I'm Now Content in My Little World
by Dimkaisshmexy24
Summary: Dimitri Belikov is a soldier who fights in Afghanistan every day, shooting down the Taliban. Rose is a clothing designer for men, children, and teens. What happens when they meet? How will they get along? AH and slightly OOC-Full Summary inside. Please R&R! :D... I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This my second Fanfic, and yes, it's all human, unlike my other one where it starts off as an all human story and then turns into the real deal. My bad for that. Anyway, I've had this idea in my head for quite some time now and I really wanted to type it out. I do apologize if sound like I am stealing someone else's idea, but I assure you, I don't steal. I respect people for their work and it's meant to stay remained in their hands unless they give it up for adoption. In the passage, there will be things in parentheses to explain what the military terms are… I hope it helps. And before you ask, I did not get all of these things off of the internet. I happen to just know some things about the US Army- oh, and pleaassseee, if I happen to get a military term incorrect, please correct me. It'd be appreciated. ALSO, in the military, many soldiers and higher ranks address most people by their last names- except Ivan. Heh. Thanks! (: **

**I'm Now Content in My Little World-  
Full Summary:  
**

**Dimitri Belikov is a soldier who fights in Afghanistan every day, shooting down the Taliban. He puts his life on the line every day when he's in Afghanistan, but will a certain someone change his mind about doing that? Which path will he choose? Rose is a clothing designer for men, children, and teens. Rose loves helping people in any way she can, but she's easily distracted by the man right before her eyes. What happens when they meet? How will they get along? This story is AH and some characters, if not all, are slightly OOC. R&R… please? (:  
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD!**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R!)  
Chapter One:  
(Dimitri POV)  
**I adjusted my MICH (Modular Integrated Communications Helmet), grabbing my M-4(type of rifle) along with more ammo. Today I was on patrol, searching for any IEDs (improvised explosive devices). Second in line, I followed the Afghan soldier to one of the places the Taliban could possibly be hiding, making the IEDs.

"We got 'em." said the Afghan soldier. I went forward, doing my duty. I kicked down the door that was the only thing separating us from the Taliban.

"We will not shoot unless the Taliban shoot first! We are here to come to an agreement on terms. As I repeat- we will not shoot unless we are shot at first-" A man yelled "fire" in his language, making many other men fire. I immediately raised my rifle, shooting at anybody that was firing at us.  
"Take cover!" I launched a grenade into the little house, taking cover with the other soldiers behind a thick clay wall. Any debris from the house flew back, smacking around and onto all of our ACUs (Army Combat Uniform).

"Belikov!" I turned my head to see Kesterman, a friend of mine, holding his bloody and wounded leg.  
"How bad?" I asked, slightly scooting from my spot to check his wound(s?). There looked to be a few bullets here and there along with a knife lodged into his leg.  
"A guy shot me three times and then who I assumed was his wife flung a knife right into the skin above my kneecap."

"We need to get you out of here. I'll call in Castile."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem. You think you can survive another five?"  
"Yes-" he hissed as he applied more pressure onto his wounds. "sir."

I radioed Castile, another good friend of mine who had joined the military about ten years after I did. This was only his fourth year while I was almost finished with my thirteenth. I was thirty-one compared to him being twenty-five.  
"Castile."  
"Belikov? Let me guess, Kesterman got hurt again?"

"Yes. We need to get him to the base- ASAP. We're lucky we brought extra men. It was a small group but they know how to fire."  
"You got it. No rapid evacuations (the event of many soldiers wounded in the combat zone and need to be rushed out)?"

"No. Hold on, let me check for anymore wounded." I looked around, counting all of our men.

"Where did Phillips go?"  
Wellebie spoke up as soon as I asked the question. "Sir, we don't know if he'll make it. He looks to be puncture in the heart." Shit.

"Where is he?"  
I stood to my full height, which was a very bad idea. Someone who was alive shot at my head, but I quickly raised my arms. I don't know why- a reflex? The helmets had padding, but I was still unsure of how bad it could damage my head since I've never experienced that. However, I wasn't quick enough and the bullet went through my uniform, grazing my arm, and then leaving a stinging pain in its path.

I ran around the wall, searching for a person. A rifle was pointed to me once I found the man and well, he asked for it. I shot him dead-center in the chest without any hesitation. He fell to the ground, landing on a burned group of bodies. I ran back around, seeing some people jogging to where we were with roll up stretchers.

"Where did you say Phillips is located?" Kesterman raised his not-wounded arm over to where a body lay. I hurriedly made my way over to him and knelt down.

"Phillips?" I felt his neck which had an extremely faint pulse.  
"Herrera! We need a stretcher!" -Where in the world was his vest? We all wore the Kevlar bullet proof vests.  
"Coming, sir!" Herrera replied, running over with three other men. Phillips, I have to admit, wasn't a very light man. I wasn't sure if those four could even lift Phillips up.  
"You need to get Phillips in that Humvee ( a.k.a- HMMWV- type of truck/vehicle that is often used for off-roading whenever searching for IEDs or land mines) because he most likely doesn't have much more time before his heart stops beating."  
"Yes, sir- anything else?"  
"Be careful. Ran into about seven snipers (shooters that hide out in the land and then shoot when they see someone against them) on our way here."  
"Yes sir." The four of the ten Humvees we came with sped off as fast as they could towards the base.  
"Let's go." I took the rest of men and we settled into the six Humvees, heading back to the Kandahar military base. It has been my make-shift home for the past two years, but since my birthday was coming up, I was going to take leave for two weeks to visit my family in the states. Just one more day until I see my loving mother and three sisters. I could hardly wait.

Even though the wicking material (a material that helps allow sweat to exit from inside the uniforms) on our ACUs help with sweat, the degree of the heat in the atmosphere was rising quickly.

The hottest it's ever been here is a max of one-twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and today seemed

like the sun wasn't going to give it a rest. It was one-seventeen degrees Fahrenheit, almost one-eighteen. I was in a Humvee with three other men; Garretson in the driver's seat, myself in the passenger's, Hubert in the seat behind Garretson, and then Ivan Zeklos, my best friend since two, in the seat behind me. Thank goodness for air conditioning in this thing.

"So, Belikov, are the rumors true?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion while I looked at Hubert.  
"What rumors?"  
"The ones about you leaving Afghanistan for good."

"No. Why would I do that?"  
"Well, we heard that you were going to the states for your birthday and then staying with your mom because she didn't want you leaving anymore." I scoffed.  
"My mother _wanted_ me to join the Army. Yes, she'd take me back any day, guaranteed, but she's always wanted to be in the Army, and since none of my sisters didn't step up to the plate, I did. And I freakin' love it."  
"Awe, big'ole Dimitri is a momma's boy." Garretson said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.  
"Shut it, Garretson. Last I heard, your mom actually sent you cupcakes and some underwear with your name sewed into it." Ivan always backed me up in these situations.  
"Hell yeah! I'm a momma's boy and I ain't afraid to admit it." I smirked at him as he had his lip curled back.

"Answer a question for me, Garretson," Ivan said, leaning forward. "How many sisters do you have?"  
"None."  
"Exactly."  
"Why does that matter?"  
"Because Dimitri is the only boy in his family. I bet if you grew up in a house with five females in the house, you'd be a momma's boy too. He's not willingly choosing to be a momma's boy."  
"What about your dad Dimitri?" Garretson asked.

I stiffened immediately at the mention of my father.  
"Don't wanna talk about it." My own voice was barely recognizable. Just thinking about my so called 'father' made my blood boil. After another minute of extremely uncomfortable silence, Hubert asked, "How long you been away from your family?"  
I frowned as I realized how long i've been away.  
"Nine."  
"Nine what? Weeks? Months? Years?"  
"Years."  
"Then why now?" I shrugged. The truth was, I was afraid to visit them before. I felt like my mother would turn around and look for _him_ again like the last two times. The first was when Karolina lost her unborn child and ran away from home. After a week of no reply from Karolina, Mama 'needed' a distraction. She called up Aleksander and broke three ribs and her leg from that mistake. The second time, Viktoria got drunk and was fined for DUI. We were broke back then because of Aleksander stealing any money we had, only leaving us just enough for the bills on the house and Vika's fine. She crawled back to him while I was working one night. She was almost beaten to death.

Whenever we Skyped, even thought it wasn't often, my mother seemed happy along with my sisters. I hoped they were alright.  
My suitcase and duffel were packed. As I went to sleep, I smiled, thinking of how fun it'd be to see my family again. I could hardly wait.

(Rose POV)  
"Number twenty-three please! Your order is ready!" I yelled, heading back into the kitchen.  
"Jeez, Rose. Can't you use that voice for something else? Some of us are old. Old as in over-half-a-century-old." I smirked at Alberta who was the oldest co-worker here besides Dean.

"Nope," I said, popping the "p." "You'll just need to get some hearing aids." She shook her head, resuming to cook the juicy steaks.

I worked at Dean's Deli to occupy myself. Most people don't like to work even more, but my career is actually a quiet one, never needing that much work. I was a clothing designer- yes- Rose Hathaway, a clothing designer. But here's the catch. I do children's clothing and men's clothing. There's one punk company that I design teenagers' clothing, for girls and boys, but that's it.  
I've never been the really girly girl. That's Lissa's job, and she does it well. However, Lissa doesn't design things. She's the down-to-earth chick who loves helping people and animals.  
Liss works as a neonatal nurse assistant and is employed by the Belikov Health Company. I've met Ms. Belikov, or Olena- as she wants me to call her, several times when I have had to pick Lissa up from work. She is a nice woman who deserves every penny she earns.  
"Rose, your shift is over. You can clock out." I stared at the clock above Destiny's head. I thought about it. Destiny was a hard worker who was raising triplets by herself since her boyfriend left her. She was never okay in the financial department- or at least that's was Alberta said, and she had to work three jobs to keep her family healthy and living.

"Hey, Destiny, do you mind if I..."  
"What, Rose? I'm wasting time when I could be filling out orders."  
"I was wondering if you would like me to fill in your shift while you can clock in early at Benny's. I know you're raising three kids by yourself and it's hard to keep up with them -and- juggle three jobs. I was thinking, I could do your shifts and I'll just have Dean take the hours that I worked for you and put them in your time sheet. I can do it for the rest of the week."  
"Really? You'd do that for me?" I smiled and nodded. She squealed and attacked me with a bear hug.  
"Oh my gosh! Thank you, Rose! So much! If you can't do a day, just let me know and I'll stay, but thank you so so so much Rose! How can I repay you?"  
"Listen, Des, I just want to be friends in return. It doesn't hurt to have a friend by your side." She beamed and nodded.  
"Thank you. Thank you, Rose. No one's ever done this for me. I really appreciate it." I smiled and nodded again, watching Destiny rush out the back door and into the employee parking lot. I knew what I was going to do after work.  
"Rose! You ain't no slacker; get your butt back to work!" Dean yelled from the cash register.

I ran up to the sub line and began my sub making. Six hours later, I was done with my shift and Destiny's. Dean was washing dishes in the back while Alberta was sweeping. Another worker, Jordan, who was also Dean's son, was taking all of the trash out and scrubbing down tables in the dining area. Dean didn't need many workers for the place.  
He was a speedy cashier, Alberta and Destiny were great cooks, I made the subs and sandwiches and soup, and Jordan did most of the manly work other than cleaning.

"Hey, boss? May I talk to you after you're done with the dishes?"  
"Can it wait until I lock up?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Alright. I'll be all ears after Jordan leaves." I nodded and resumed wiping down the counters, sub line, and glass covers.  
Jordan left ten minutes later, leaving Alberta, Dean, and myself alone.  
"What's this about Rosie?" I always thought of Dean as my -real- father since mine was never around. Abe was around now, actually, but tried winning my love with money. It doesn't work that way for me. Well, at least Dean treated me like family. Like I was his own kid.  
"Well, I want to make a donation to Destiny."

"Like an anonymous donation?"  
"Yes."  
"Why?"  
"Because she's raising three kids while working. I want to give her... One mil."  
"Rose, that's a _very_ generous donation. Do you even have that much money to spare?"  
"I sure do. You remember that guy, Abe, that I told you both about?"  
"Yeah." Dean said, while Alberta just nodded.  
"He's my dad. And he's rich. He gave me a lot of money, probably thinking that I would give him daughterly love in return, but we all know that's not how I roll." They chuckled in agreement.  
"I trust you guys not to tell anyone because when I say he left me money, I'm talking quite a few mill."  
"How much is 'a few' mill, exactly Rose?" Alberta asked, slightly scratching her head.  
"I'm not going to say. All you need to know is that it's a lot."  
"Is that why you live in that mansion?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah, but I didn't want a large house. I actually just wanted to live in like a two story house with four bedrooms and a basement... anyway, that's not the point. I want to make a two million dollar donation."  
"I thought you wanted to make it a one-" I cut Alberta off.  
"I changed my mind. Two million dollars, to her, and I was wondering if you could give it to her saying, 'Hey, Destiny, somebody left this for you.' or something like that. And if she asks any questions about who 'dropped it off,' just tell her you don't remember."  
"I can do that Rosie." I gave Dean a cheeky smile.  
"One more thing. I filled in for Destiny and kind of told her that I'd do her shifts for her but still have the money go into her paycheck. She really needs it and I was wondering if you could count my time as hers also."  
"Anything for you, darlin'. I was going to give her a raise too, but screw that! She's gonna be rich within the week!" I laughed and bid them my farewells with hugs.

O.o  
When I arrived at the daycare, Sydney greeted me on the way in.  
"How did he do today?" I asked, snatching up the little bugger. Cj bounced in my arms and I ruffled his black hair. I planted a big kiss on his cheek, causing him to giggle.

"He did really good. I was surprised at how sleepy he was this morning."  
"Late night," I explained. "How much is this week's payment?"  
"One-sixty-two." I put Cj down and I scribbled on a check, making sure that I filled in everything correctly before dropping it into the deposit-box.  
"Come 'ere bud. We gotta go."  
"Okay. By Miss Syd!"  
"Goodbye, Cj. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Bye, Sydney. Have a good night." I told her. She nodded and waved back at the waving Cj.

Cj and I walked out, hand in hand, and made our way over to the silver Honda Civic. I hated it, but Lissa insisted on having a safe, gas saving, car. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Cj let go of my hand and yanked on the car door handle. He pulled just a little too hard and landed on his butt. I scrunched up, worried that he's start crying, but he just stared at the door in confusion. I shook my head and laughed, picking him up. I buckled him into the car seat and then made my way to the driver's seat. I had to pick Liss up because Christian had taken her to work today, but he wasn't able to pick her up because he got held up at a meeting at the fire department. Lissa owns her own vehicle, but she doesn't like driving. She's just odd like that.  
I glanced at Cj who was staring out the window.  
"So, what my little fire boy do today with Miss Sydney?" He grinned.  
"Today, we colored and made magaronchi necklaces." Magaronchi. Exciting.  
"Macaroni necklaces and coloring! Man, I wish I could do those things. What did you color?" He giggled.  
"I colored mommy a cat picture, daddy a doggy picture, and you- a flower. Miss Sydney said the flower was called a rose, like your name."  
"Miss Sydney is right." was all I replied with. Five minutes later, we pulled into the hospital. I unbuckled him from his seat and his eyelids were now beginning to drop.  
"Come on big boy. Don't fall asleep on me yet."

I hoisted him up on my waist as he buried his face into the crook of my neck and began to snooze. I soothed him into my neck as I smoothed out his hair. It was getting long, but Lissa didn't want to cut it. His hair was almost chin length, actually, but she was too damn stubborn to listen to me. He had Christian's hair style and color with Lissa's eyes.  
His nose was also like his father's but his lips were pouty like his mother's. I could tell he was going to be tall like his parents and most likely have their pale complexion. I walked along the

sidewalk, going through the main office. I went up to floor three and saw Mia, the receptionist.

"Hey Rose! Lissa's shift is almost over."  
"Alright."  
"Is that little boy yours?" Mia was one of the newer workers and didn't know many people and whose kids were whose.  
"No. This is Christian Junior, Lissa's son."  
"Aw. He's adorable!" I smiled and nodded. He snuggled deeper into my neck while also releasing a tiny yawn. I internally frowned. There was that dull ache in my chest.

I sat in one of the waiting chairs, cradling little Christian to my chest, wondering if I'd ever be a mother. Everyone girl probably thinks that if they haven't had a kid- well, probably not if they didn't want kids, but I wondered. I was soon going on twenty-six, still without a lover. Not even a fake one. I've never been the one for romantic crap, but I feel lonely. I don't have anyone that knows me, as in the real -me-. Liss is close, but there are things that she won't understand the full concept of.  
I scoffed at myself.  
I was being a baby.  
I was drowning in pity for my love life.  
I don't need anyone.  
I don't need to let anyone in.  
I won't do it.  
I won't get hurt again.  
Maybe it was a selfish thing to do, but for once, I felt free.  
No one was going to rain on my parade anymore. Well, I hoped they didn't.

Lissa came out of a room no less than two minutes later and took her kid from me.  
"How's my baby?" She squealed into his face. He frowned.  
"Mommy, I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy." the three-year-old said.  
"I know. But you'll always be mommy's baby." He giggled into her shoulder.  
"Where's my little man?" a voice bellowed.  
"Daddy!" Poor Cj writhed in his mother's arms, trying to escape his mother's arms. Lissa put him on the ground and he fell the first step he took, making Liss gasp, but scrambled back up and resumed running towards his father. Lissa babied the kid too much.  
Christian crouched on the ground and then scooped him up, spinning him around in a circle, pretending to be an airplane. Though Christian and I had our very jacked up differences, I had to admit that he was a great father. When the two were done fooling around, I took in Christian's appearance.  
He was in a tuxedo. Not the usual navy blue fire department's shirt with the logo, not the usual black pants, not the usual black books. Cj ran back to Lissa and they spoke about how daycare was. I walked over to Christian and asked,  
"Let me guess, I'm babysitting?"  
"Uh, could you? If not we have Jill, but we trust you more. Lissa works a lot and we normally don't have any time together. Please, Rose." I almost died with laughter. "If you can't, then I guess we'll take him to Jill's, but-why are you laughing?"  
"Spar-kles, y-you said ple-please!" I managed to gasp out. All the workers stared at me like I had grown three heads and begun to eat children. Once I stopped laughing, I looked at everyone.  
"What?" They shook their heads, returning to their seats.  
"And? I said please. Big deal. Who cares?"  
"It's funny. Never once have I heard you say 'please.'"

"Come on Rose, we're not in high school anymore."  
"Your point is?" he narrowed his eyes at me. I put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.  
"Sure. I'll babysit- one condition."

"What's that condition?" he asked, righting himself once I let go.  
"When you come to pick Cj up tomorrow, bring me some chocolate glazes donuts."  
"You got it Rose. Thanks."  
"No problem, Sparky. He's only allergic to apricots, right?"  
"And cats."  
"Cats? Since when?" I had one dog and she was a mix of a Labrador and a Great Dane. Her name was Cat.  
"Since he visited Tasha. Guess how many cats she has."  
"Two?"  
"Ten!"  
"That's… Disturbing. Are you sure it isn't thirty?"  
"Yeah, it is. She's freaking forty years old and she lives with ten cats. I think it will be thirty in no time."  
"I agree."  
"Anyway, Liss and I gotta hit the road. I made reservations for nine." I nodded and walked over to Cj, picking him up as soon as he tugged on my sweats.  
"Rose?" I turned to Lissa, who was happy and bright. It radiated off of her and I could tell she could hardly wait to have some... "fun" but in the adult kind of way.  
"Hmm?"  
"Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me." I smiled, which was something I was doing a whole lot of today, and shrugged.  
"It's cool. I like spending time with mini Christian unlike the real one." I said, grinning at Christian. He rolled his eyes.  
"Rose!" she chastised. "What will we do with you? Anyway, I wanted to ask you, do you want to attend a birthday-slash-welcome home party with Christian, Cj, and I this Wednesday?"  
"Wednesday. That's kind of a weird day to host a party. I mean, most are on the weekends."  
"Yes, Rose, I know that. It's an odd day, so what?"  
"Eh. Fine. When time is her party?"  
"_His_ party. It's at five and they have no clue when it'll end."  
"Uh-huh, and who is '_they_'?"  
"Oh. '_They_' is Olena. The party is for her son."

"How old is he?"  
"I think eighteen, nineteen? She said something about that."  
"Yikes. Okay, I'll go." I was hoping he'd be older.  
"Wednesday. Five. Don't be late." I rolled my eyes, "Why set me at that expectation when you know I'll never be able to meet it?"  
"Because we can always hope." Cj cut into our conversation.  
"Am I staying with Auntie Ro tonight?"  
"Yes. Mommy and Daddy have go go do some things, but we promise we'll be back to pick you up." Christian said, plucking his boy out of my arms and giving me Cj's overnight bag. I checked the items that rested inside the bag.  
"Where's Bopper?" I searched through his clothes but came up empty handed.  
"Oops. I left it in the car." Christian put his son down and jogged to the staircase. It was a wise choice, considering how long it took for the elevator to come up and down.

Bopper was Cj's stuffed giraffe.

"Be good for mommy, okay buddy? Be good for mommy and daddy."

"I will." Lissa bent down, placing a kiss on her son's forehead and giving him a tight hug, which I was sure that his eyes would pop out if she didn't stop.

"Liss, you're going to be charged with murder if you don't let go of the poor kid."

"Right." She sighed, patting his back.

Christian was back in a record time and tossed me Bopper.

"Love you guys, be safe!" Lissa said, as Christian nearly pushed her out the door for not moving.

"We will. Say bye to mommy and daddy Cj."

"Bye mommy! Bye daddy! Drive safer!" I chuckled at how he phrased his words.

"Alright big boy. Let's go." I grabbed his hand and started to walk towards the elevator but was stopped by Olena.  
"Rose!"

"Hey! Olena, how are you?"

"Good! I just wanted to know if you're coming to the party Wednesday… I wasn't sure if Lissa was able to pass on the message."

"Oh, she did. And I will be attending. We all will. Thank you for inviting us." She smiled and nodded, pulling me in for a quick hug.

"Hello Cj! How are you today?" He rubbed his eyes and shrugged. We both laughed as his eyes began to droop again.

"Hm." She reached behind Mia's desk and produced two lollipops. "One for you, big boy, and one for Miss Rose, as we all know how she likes to have treats." Cj's jade-green eyes widened and he smiled brightly at Olena.

"Drive safely, Rose, and be a good boy, Cj. Goodbye!"

"Bye. It was nice talking."

"You too. Don't forget, five o' clock."

"You got it."

With that, she left.

"Cj, have you had any food?"

"No. I'm hungry. I didn't wanna eat earlier."

"Why?" I asked, as we walked inside the elevator.

"I wasn't hungry. We had meatballs today." He replied, making a face.

"Alright. We'll go eat somewhere and then go to my house and watch some cartoons. How does that sound?" He nodded happily.

We came home around nine, nine-thirty, and Cj was already fast asleep. I went to his room he had at my house and managed to slip his pajamas on without too much of a hassle. I tucked him in and gave him Bopper, and watched as he snuggled up with the stuffed giraffe and fell back into his heavy slumber. Oh how I wished to be a mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so happy! I received seven reviews! SEVEN! I really want to apologize for all of the mistakes like typing "books" instead of "boots" when I described Christian's uniform-type-thing and such… and I'd also like to apologize for how the writing was formatted… is that the correct word? Formatted? Well, basically how sloppy it looked and how many of the sentences were all bunched together. A good chunk of the writing was written on my iPod and so I had to copy & paste it into an email, and then I had to paste it on here and then I thought it would look funny whenever I uploaded it so I changed it, but only to mess it up even more. Sorry. :/ I'd like to give a HUGE thanks to: **RozaRoseBelikov, Livingoncoffeeandcigarettes, mademoisellesnow, anon (Shawna), NekkaLovesChocolate, and loventherussian17 **for reviewing! And then I'd like to give an even bigger thanks to** ncisfangirl **for being the FIRST reviewer on my story! (: I really appreciate it. **

**I advise you to check out **RozaRoseBelikov's **story (She also has one about Christopher Pike's **_**Thirst**_**, however she stopped writing that one.) , **NekkaLovesChocolate's **story, and** ncisfangirl's **stories! I HAVE read them and they are great stories. As for **Livingoncoffeeandcigarettes's** stories and **Loventherussian17's **story, I have not read them, but they sound good because I just read the summaries and after I'm going to check them out after I type out this chapter. Then there is **Shawna **and **mademoisellesnow **whose stories I have not read because they don't have any. :P Sooo yeah. **

**From now on, each chapter will have a song as its chapter title- kind of giving you hints as to what it will be about. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! (: Here's the next chapter! **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD! ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R!)**

**-I almost forgot, I'm stupid, I know, but I need to give another huge thanks to **RozaRoseBelikov **for helping me with a section of the story! So, the part in the story that I don't feel like typing out was **_**all her **_**so she gets the credit for that. (: You rock M! _Remind me, we have to get that beta thing set up sooner or later! :o_ **

Previously in

_We came home around nine, nine-thirty, and Cj was already fast asleep. I went to his room he had at my house and managed to slip his pajamas on without too much of a hassle. I tucked him in and gave him Bopper, and watched as he snuggled up with the stuffed giraffe and fell back into his heavy slumber. Oh how I wished to be a mother._

**Chapter Two- Party Hard by Andrew W. K. **

**(Rose POV)**

I woke up the next morning with my phone ringing loudly. I grumbled and touched the large green button that popped up on the screen, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"What?" I answered, not-so-nicely.

"Rose?" Lissa's soft voice sounded in the phone.

"Liss, it's-" I checked my alarm clock- which was set for _ten. _"Seven-thirty! Let me sleep!" She giggled softly into the phone.

"I don't think so. You're babysitting my child, your nephew, so get your lazy butt up and go check on him." I face palmed myself, totally forgetting that Cj had stayed the night here.

_Great, you want to be a mother when you can't even act like one!_

_**Shut up.**_

_BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONCE!_

_**Hey, no one asked for your opinion other me, so shut the hell up. **_

Good Lord, I'm talking to myself now.

"Is that all? You called to tell me to check up on your son who is undoubtedly asleep?"

"Well, he's been getting sick on and off and I want to make sure my baby boy is okay!"

"Yeah, yeah. Calm your tits. I'll go check up on him."

"Thanks. And Rose?"

"Mmm?"

"Can Cj spend the night again?"

"I don't mind, but do you think Cj will be alright without seeing you guys?"

"Oh, we'd stop by. Christian promised you doughnuts." I smirked.

"When I get Cj up- if he isn't already, I'll have him call you."

"Thank you, Rose! I love you! Bye!"

"Love ya too. Bye."Hanging up, I put my robe on, securing it tightly around my body. I dragged myself into Cj's room but I didn't see him lying on the bed. I checked the adjoining bathroom, but it too was empty. I cursed under my breath and jogged downstairs and into the kitchen. No sign of him there either. I picked up my speed and ran franticly around the house, looking for him.

"Cj? Where are you? CJ! Now is no time for jokes so get your little, skinny, white a-"

"Auntie Ro! Ro!" Little screeches came from the front of the house. I hadn't even thought of looking over there! I booked it towards the front door where I saw Tasha, Jesse, and Cj. Jesse looked high and Tasha was trying to get a hold of the moving three-year-old.

"What the hell! Tasha! Put him down now!" I grabbed Cj from her and sat him onto the couch, checking for any damages. Well I tried to, but Tasha pulled my hair. _That little bitch._ My fists clenched at my sides as I raised them and punched her in the nose. I heard a satisfying crack.

"I don't know why you are here, but you better get the hell out of my house before I call the police." She scampered away, holding her bloody and broken nose.

"I was supposed to babysit."

"Yeah, right, and I was supposed to design a clothing line for Calvin Klein but that didn't happen now, did it? They told me they didn't like it. They _hated _it just like I _hate _how you always have to ruin everyone's plans! Now, I don't like having to repeat myself. When I say "_Get out,"_ I mean it. So_ GET. THE FUCK. OUT_."She and Jesse made their way out the front door and into the rusty car sitting in my driveway but not before I yelled, "Don't think that your nephew won't hear about this!" I slammed the door shut with my foot and looked at Cj. He was curled up in a small ball and a few tears ran down his face. I sat down next to him and he scooted a bit further away.

"I'm sorry, buddy, did I scare you?" He nodded and buried his head in his knees.

"I'm sorry. Ro is sorry. Come here big boy." I picked him up and cradled him in my lap, running my fingers over and through his hair.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He leaned into my shoulder more and I could hear his little sniffles. Cj was very articulate for his age.

"I went to go potty and then I heard someone knock at the door. I opened it and Tasha was there with a guy and she told me to let her in because she was taking me home. I didn't let her in. She broke it and came in and she put Kitty (**Cj calls Cat "Kitty")** in a room. She told me to be quiet. I was scared Ro. I don't want to stay here anymore." My heart broke the slightest bit because I actually loved having him here. I was so bored when I had nothing to do and Christian Junior helped me through it.

"You don't ever want to stay with Auntie Ro?"

"I do, but I'm scared."

"What if I made it safer? What if I made it to where no one can break in?" He peeked out from his elbow with his little black eyebrows scrunched together.

"You can do that?"

"I sure can buddy." He dropped his head and nodded.

"Good. We have to call your mommy and daddy and tell them what happened, alright?" He nodded again. I Facetimed Lissa, impatiently waiting for her to pick up. She didn't pick up so I called her, and she didn't answer. I tried Christian too, but he wouldn't answer. So, I left them each a text saying-

**Call me as soon as you read this. It's actually important, so if you two could quit the craziness, I'd really appreciate it. Dipwads. **

**_The-Bad-Fuckin'-Ass _ **

"Mommy and daddy aren't picking up so how about we get ready, go out, get some breakfast, and then come back and swim?"

"Can we go to Vic's?" I wrinkled my nose at the thought of going inside there.

"Sorry bud, but they're closed now. They got shut down." He frowned but perked right back up when he asked to go to another place.

"Can we go to the Coffee House?" I gave him a high-five. Now we're talking. I asked which room Cat was in so I could feed her and let her use the bathroom. She got locked in the cleaning supply closet.

Cat bolted to the back door where she whined to be let out. After she took a dump, I brought her in so I could feel her some Taste of the Wild- Smoke Salmon. Yum. Note the sarcasm.

RxD=?

I patted my full stomach and Cj repeated the motion.

"You two are finally full?" Mikhail asked, placing an arm around his pregnant wife.

"I believe so. Bring me the check and then we can get out of your hair." I replied.

"I swear Rose, you eat more than Sonya." I smiled at him and he chuckled.

"And I'm pregnant. I am eating for two, not one." she added on.

"I'd hate to see the day where you get pregnant. You would eat a whole grocery store overnight."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, throwing a piece of hash brown at the owner of the Coffee House. I tried to tease around, but on the inside, the dull ache was reappearing.

"Well, Cj and I should get going. Check please?" He laid the check down on the table and walked off to greet some more customers, Sonya right by his side. The total was a little over twenty dollars so I tossed a fifty inside and handed it to them before I left.

"Rose, wait! Your change!" Sonya was rushing to the cash register but I stopped her.

"Keep it. It's not like I have anything to do with it anyway." I had already given to countless charities, bought an endless supply of clothing for myself, and I have given to friends that have needed it. I told Abe to stop sending me all the money, but he won't. So, I resort into pretty much giving it away. Taking Cj's hand in mine, we walked to the parking lot when I received a phone call.

"Hello?" I answered. Cj looked up at me, questioning if it was Lissa or Christian. I let go of his hand and he ran to the car, waiting patiently next to the door.

"Hello, Rose- this is Viktoria. I am extremely sorry, but the party has moved up to today. It's going to be at seven, not five." I internally groaned because I hadn't picked out anything to wear yet. That alone took me hours and it was twelve now.

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know."

"I know, it's a very late notice, but my brother's flight was early and Mama wanted to throw the party today. We're trying to call everyone by at least four o'clock." I chuckled at the thought of Olena moving around, trying to get everything in order for her son. "Oh! Before I forget, if you have any kids that are tagging along, we're having Sydney come over and watch the children."

"Sydney from the daycare?"

"Yes."

"That's great! Have you gotten a hold of Lissa?"

"No, she won't pick up and neither will Christian. Is their son with you?"

"Mmhm. I've been trying to get a hold of them too. I'll keep trying and let them know about the party date switching."

"Okay. Thank you so much, Rose!"

"No problem. One question- how should I dress? Like, dressy, casual, a party-hard outfit?"

"Whatever you want. It's not formal and there's gonna be lots of beer." Beer didn't sound so bad. I didn't have work tomorrow, except Dean's, and I only show up if I'm bored.

"Awesome. See ya." Shit. I had to go home and start getting ready!

"Yeah! See you tonight!" She hung up, leaving me to think.

_Think? Since when does _Rose Hathaway _take time to think?_

_**GO AWAY!**_

_Can't. I am your conscience. _

_**I'm going crazy here. I am talking to myself, so please, if you could, LEAVE! I want to remain somewhat sane!**_

"Ro, can we go now?"

"Yeah. Listen, Cj," I scrambled over to the car and began buckling him inside. "Did mommy tell you about a party?"

"Yup. She told me I would have to stay with Auntie Jill."

"Well, now you don't. The party was changed to tonight, so when we get home, I have to get ready. You need to too, okay sweetie?" I told him, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

"Fine, but can we swim together tomorrow?"

"Sure. Anything you want, alright?"

"Okay!" He smiled brightly, playing with Bopper.

"Cj?" He looked up. "Do you want to see mommy and daddy?" He nodded. I took a turn, hoping they'd be there. I drove for about five more minutes before I pulled up to the neighborhood gate. I rolled down my window to greet Meredith who was an old high school buddy. We didn't talk much… all I knew was that she hated her job.

"Hiya." She went to the computer inside the little glass box and she motioned for me to go on ahead in. I went straight, driving towards the seventh house on the right. Christian's black Chevy (Silverado 2012) was parked in the driveway and Lissa didn't drive often so her Hyundai (Verna 2011) should be inside their garage.

I got out of the car, grabbed Christian and Bopper, and made my way up the long driveway. I had no clue as to why I didn't just park closer. Right before I pounded my fist on the door, it swung open.

"Can I help you?" There stood Christian with an annoyed expression on his face along with no clothes on except his blue boxers. I shoved him back so I could walk in and handed him his son.

"Where's Lissa?"

"In the shower, why?"

"Why is she in the shower?" He looked like he was going to answer my question, but they could've been doing many things that I do _not _want the answer of.

_Hey, at least they're both getting some, unlike you._

_**I don't need 'some.' **_

_But you _want _'some.' _

_**Whatever. This conversation is over. **_

"Don't answer that. The party is switched to today at seven and your Aunt broke into my house." He was giving all of his attention to Cj until heard the second part and his head snapped towards me, his annoyed expression turning angry.

"She did _what_?"

"I broke her nose."

"Whose nose did you break? Rose, violence isn't the answer!" Lissa came down the stairs, only being covered by a towel.

"Oh my gosh, will you two put some clothes on? There's a three-year-old in here."

"She broke Tasha's nose," Christian said, putting down the squirming kid. Cj gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and ran off somewhere with their dog greyhound, Sadie. "And I'd like to know the reason." Christian crossed his arms over his chest while narrowing his eyes and Lissa put her hands on her hips, looking at me in disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like I stole the cookies out of the cookie jar? She's the one who tried to take your kid!"

"Let me get this straight, Rose," Christian rubbed his face. "My aunt broke into your _mansion, _that should have some kind of security, tried taking our kid, and then you punched her in the nose?"

"Damn straight!" I yelled, throwing my hands in the air. "Not all mansions have to have security… I can fend for myself and you know it. Oh, and Liss, the party date and time were switched to today at seven o'clock.

"Seriously? I have to get ready! We only have six hours and thirty minutes. Cj. Cj!" She jumped up and down and called for Cj. "Christian! Cj, can you come here?" His giggles sounded from the kitchen as he and the dog ran around.

"Coming Mommy!" He skidded to a stop in front of me, Sadie right behind him, and turned to face his mother.

"Cj, what did Tasha do?" He re-explained everything to the distressed Lissa, who listened to the story with wide eyes. Afterwards, she cried into her little boy's hair. Christian grew even angrier, probably extremely upset with how this was going.

"I need to get ready, as well as Lissa. I know I was supposed to babysit, but looks like it's your job now Sparky. I'm taking Liss to my house and you and your kid can have a little bonding time. Father and son bonding time. Fun. Cj!" He ran to me and I planted a big one on his face, hugging him quickly.

"I'm taking Mommy. We'll see you tonight, alright honey bunches?" He nodded and bounced up the stair with Sadie, like always, right behind him.

"He didn't even give me a kiss goodbye," Lissa frowned and sighed. "Rose, why are we going to your house when the Belikovs are a whole lot closer to me? They live in the neighborhood over, not ten minutes away."

"Your point is? We're getting ready at my house and that's final. Besides, I called Abe and let him know that I wanted an alarm for the house. He's going to be there and I don't want to be there alone with him because things get awkward."

Lissa crossed her arms over her chest in a stubborn manner. "Oh really, how so?" I copied her position.

"Because it just does."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No. Now let's leave!" I went up the stairs, into Christian and Lissa's room, and snatched her robe off of its hook. I tossed it to her on the way down and picked up a pair of her flip-flops that were sitting by the door, tossing those to her too.

"You don't actually expect me to leave with only a robe on, do you? Plus, my baby boy was almost kidnapped! I can't leave." Lissa asked, her eyes popping.

"One) you're leaving whether you like it or not, and two) it's not that big of a deal. People won't know you're naked under the robe. You are just walking to my car, and then exiting it to enter my house." She grumbled at my forcefulness and slipped her robe/flip-flop outfit on.

RxD=?

When I walked to my front door, a note was on the door. It read-

_Kiz, I apologize I was not able to be here-_

I scoffed. That _really _surprised me. Once again, note the sarcasm.

_but I had someone come and hook up an alarm system. There are cameras in every room except yours. There are instructions on the kitchen island. _

_Love, Baba. _

Lissa pushed passed me and went up the two flights of stairs, trying to start getting ready.

**(Dimitri POV- Yesterday… technically. -I apologize for any facts that are messed up because I am confused myself. I know the time difference between Missoula and Kandahar is ten hours and thirty minutes, but I'm unsure of what the ETA would be and such. Sorry for any mistakes.)**

_A sharp pain ran through my right arm. _

"_Dimka!" My little sister screeched, hanging onto the rope with most likely all of her strength left. "Save her!" I blew the man's head off, praying my Mama and sisters would make it out alive. The man's accomplice began to saw the rope- the only thing that allowed my family to remain alive. I raised my gun to shoot, but he managed to saw the rope. I watched pulled apart until the last, tiny string couldn't hold the four women. I watched as they fell, growing closer to the water. I raised my gun again, it having fallen to my side, and shot with rage. Vika yelled my name, almost about to hit the water. Her back connected with the water and she flew under along with the rest of my small family, diving deeper and deeper into the dark abyss. _

_I collapsed to the ground, knowing I failed them once again. _

I shot up on my bunk, breathing heavily while also feeling a biting pain in my right forearm. It was three in the morning, from what the clock read, so I got up. I was leaving with Ivan and Eddie at four, so there was no point for me to go back to sleep. Well, I didn't think there was, but if I were Ivan or Eddie, I'd probably have plenty of excuses to sleep longer. My bags were packed, but the pain in my arm was persistent. I looked at my forearm, noticing the wound caused by the man from yesterday. Under my bunk was a first aid kit so I pulled it out. Cleaning the wound with a bit of peroxide, I rubbed some triple-antibiotic cream onto it and then carefully wrapped it with gauze. I'd do more about it when I got home since Mama was a doctor.

I couldn't believe I was going home… for the first time in nine years. My mind did a run-through of all of the memories I could remember. Like the time I saw Vika being born. Like the time I saw Paul being born. The birthdays we had celebrated. Karolina's and Sonya's college graduation. Vika's middle school graduation. And then the things I missed out on. Like Zoya's birth. Everyone's birthdays. Vika's college graduation. Paul's middle school graduation. I sighed and ran a hand through my short hair that was growing longer.

I needed to cut it before leaving base. Yeah, I definitely missed my old hair style, but I wouldn't break the regulations. Ivan broke me out of my mind rambling by slapping me on top of the head.

"What was that for?"

"For not listening."

"You weren't talking."

"Yes, I was. I told you to get up and get your hair cut so we can board our flight."

"Oh. Fine." I stood up and made my way to the PX Barber shop.

RxD=?

When Ivan, Eddie, and I landed, I realized that our flight was about thirty minutes earlier and that they probably wouldn't be here… since none of our families were known to be on time. How wrong was I. When we were going down the escalator, Vika looked confused at first, most likely not recognizing us, but then she noticed that we were actually here. She jumped up from her seat, rapidly speaking to Mama, Yeva, Sonya, Karolina, Paul, Zoya, Ivan's mom, Ivan's dad, Eddie's mom, Eddie's dad, and Eddie's soon-to-be wife, Mia. The whole group was here and from the looks of it, Eddie's family was getting along well with mine.

"In simpler terms, they're here!" My little sister yelled at the top of her lungs. She rushed to the bottom of the escalator, making sure there was room for Ivan and Eddie to leave, but then attacking me with a hug.

"WE MISSED YOU!" She squealed into my ear. With all of the explosions I've experienced, you'd think that that wouldn't hurt, but it did. I set her down and she let go, giving me access to the rest of the family.

"Dimka." I hugged Mama while she sobbed into my chest.

"When I said I wanted you to join the military, I meant fight for the US! Not disappear off of the face of the earth! We want you to visit!" Lina, Sonya, Vika, and Paul joined, making a little group hug. What seemed like decades later, they finally quit squeezing the life out of me and I approached Babushka.

"Получу ли я обнять, бабушка?" **(Google Translate… so it's probably not right. Sorrryy :) And translations will be at the bottom.) **She opened up her arms and responded to the hug, making me feel very young. She was growing very old… it's a wonder how she's still alive- not that I'd want her dead. But she won't be for a long time because nothing could pull this old woman down.

She murmured into my ear, "Завтра, у нас есть о чем поговорить. Твоя мать хочет, чтобы переместить сторона до сегодняшнего дня. Сегодня ночь вы будете искать вашего желания, внук, и я говорю вам сейчас, что будущее всегда вперед. Не прошлое, не настоящее. Какой бы путь вы выберете, это в ваших руках. Будьте осторожны. Вы можете кормить ребенка птицы всех червей, но вы не можете дать ребенку птицы всех червей и ожидаем, что они есть."

"Что-" She tsked me.

"Ах, ах. Со временем приходит больше мудрости." I stared at her in confusion, not understanding at all what she meant. She patted my back and let go, making me forget about our conversation completely while I spoke to Paul and caught up with the rest of my family.

RxD=?

By the time we made it home, it was about two forty-five and I really wanted some sleep. I wanted to know why airplane rides made everyone so sleepy. I dragged myself and my three-week luggage up the stairs and crashed onto the bed.

**(Rose POV- The rest of the chapter, I believe, will be in her POV. (: Here you go.)**

"How about this?" I pulled on a black, one-shoulder dress that hugged my curves in all the right places. (Link- you have to copy and paste… only if you want to see the dress: .) I had the perfect heels that would go with it. (Link- .com/s/prada-jeweled-platform-sandal/3228639?origin=category&fashionColor=&resultback=3990#BVRRWidgetID)

"Perfect. Now, it we want to make it on time, we have to go." My hair hung in loose curls that cascaded down my back while the jewels on the sandals matched my necklace. I put on my sandals and grabbed my clutch that currently held my phone, ID, driver's license, and some cash. It was time to party. It was time to party _hard. _

RxD=?

We arrived to the party in full swing even though it was only seven thirty. You could hear the song, Party Like A Rock Star by Shop Boyz from the backyard.

_Party like a rock_

_Party like a rock star. _

_Party like a rock_

_Party like a rock star. _

_Party like a rock_

_Party like a rock star. _

_Party like a rock star. _

_T-t-t-totally dude!_

_Party like a rock star_

_Do it wit da black and da white_

_Like a cop car, cop car, yeah… _My head was moving to the beat of the song until Lissa stole my attention.

"Are we going in or what?"

"Yeah. Let me just put some stuff away and I'll find you inside. Or outside. Whichever."

"Okay." She exited the car, making her way to the front door. Unlike me, Lissa settled on something more gently, and well, not so tight. Her dress was a soft pink and she wore (Link- .com/women/fashion/dresses-skirts/pink-tulip-dress/) a pair of simple black flats (Link- . - any one... I didn't feel like picking) with her hair done nicely in a bun. On the way here, we bought some Hallmark birthday cards and two one-hundred dollar Amazon Gift Cards. On the inside of mine, I just wrote,

_Happy birthday and I hope you'll be able to enjoy all of life's wonderful things to give. Sincerely,_

_R. Hathaway. _

when Lissa wrote a whole damn essay.

I took out the money I had stashed inside my clutch and put it in the glove department while clipping my ID and driver's license to the visor. All that left me with was the actual clutch and my phone. I climbed out of the car and began walking towards the front door, but when I actually got there, I hit something really hard when I tried walking through the doorway.

Who puts a wall right behind the damn doorway? I looked up and noticed that what I bumped into was no wall. No wall at all.

**TRANSLATIONS:**

"**Получу ли я****обнять,****бабушка?****"-** Do I get a hug, grandmother?

"**Завтра****, у нас есть ****о чем поговорить****. ****Твоя мать****хочет****, чтобы переместить ****сторона****до сегодняшнего дня.****Сегодня ночь****вы будете искать****вашего желания****, внук, и я ****говорю вам****сейчас****, что будущее ****всегда****вперед.****Не****прошлое,****не****настоящее.****Какой бы путь****вы выберете****, ****это****в ваших руках.****Будьте осторожны.****Вы можете****кормить ребенка****птицы****всех****червей, но****вы не можете****дать ребенку****птицы****всех****червей и****ожидаем, что они****есть."-** Tomorrow, we will talk. Your mother wants to move the party up to today. Tonight is the night you'll find your desire, grandson, and I tell you now that the future is always forward. Not past, not present. Whichever way you choose, it is in your hands. Be careful. You can feed the baby birds worms, but you cannot give the baby birds of all hearts, and expect them to be able to grow themselves.

"**Что****-****"- **What

"**Ах,****ах****. ****Со временем****приходит****больше мудрости****."-** Ah, ah. Over time comes more wisdom.

**Phew! That took me a while to get out. I always got distracted (: I am so tired though. It's currently like two a.m. and I am going on a diet that drains you out and so yeah. I'm tired. -.- Sorry this chapter was kind of a filler, but the next chapter will be better. If any of the readers that are reading this story right now and are reading my other story, I have no clue as to when my next update will be- hopefully soon. I need a little more brainstorming time. Anyway, have you guys heard the new song Hit and Run by Breathe Carolina? I love it! (: Once again, thank you so much for reviewing and adding me to your alerts and what not. If you like this story… I don't really at the moment, but if you do, then I think you'll like the next chapter. Anyway, I am tired so I am going to post this and then go to sleep. R&R please! (: Yours truly,**

**~R. :D! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Words cannot describe how happy I am. I still cannot believe it. 18 reviews. EIGHT. FLIPPING. TEEN. REVIEWS. I believe you all have made me the happiest person alive. I was wearing my trademark goofball grin for the past two days and my sister was like, "Why are you smiling like that? What's going on? What happened?" I couldn't answer her because I've been quite speechless. Your reviews make me squeal in delight. :D I'm smiling while I am writing this because I am so happy! Just… no words can describe it! AHHH! ANYWHO: I would love to give a huge thanks to all of you that reviewed- **NekkaLovesChocolate **(- has a great story you should check out :])**,mademoisellesnow, XxDeadlyBlackRosexX, xFearlesssmilex **(She also has some great stories)**, ItaSaku1, both anons, olivia williams, Katie, RozaxDimkaBelikovForever **(She has some great stories)**, FrostbittenRose, booklover, littlebadgirl2904 **(She has some great stories)**, sunaya4sho, LuPeter, lovingbites, and loventherussian17 **(Check out her story too, if you please.) **

XFearlesssmilex- **;( I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Even if it was five years ago, it never changes the fact that you had lost someone. I really appreciate the review you left me… it meant a lot. I am glad I have it close to real life because that's what I was aiming for. (: From here on out, I also wish your other cousin the best of luck. Thanks a billion for reviewing. **

NekkaLovesChocolate-** Aww. Thanks (: **

ItaSaku1- **Yeah… I didn't notice the link issue until I went over the story on the actual website. I'll post it on my profile from now on. (: **

**As for the rest of you, I am glad you liked/loved it. (: I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up… There were no computers open! Ahggg! If you have read my A/Ns in my other story, you know what I mean when I talk about my computer woes. I did have the opportunity to write yesterday, but I did not feel well. The diet I was on really sucked. I could only drink juice -.- AND it had to be REAL juice! Barf in my cereal. But I needed to be average weight. Well, I am now. Technically. I still feel kind of fat. Whatever… that doesn't matter. (: I am in my percentile and I am a "Healthy child" so I'll quit my fat rambling and get what I need to say out. In the last chapter, I used a different song in the story instead of the title, so this one will be labeled Party Hard by Andrew W.K…. again. Uh, yeah. I will also be adding some songs in this chapter, but the chapter is focused mainly on partying. To just put this out there, I am not very good at writing party scenes nor am I good at writing battle/fighting scenes- as you may have noticed in chapter one. However, that doesn't mean I won't try! Okay, this A/N is getting really long so I am going to end it and continue on with the disclaimers. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD! ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R!)**

* * *

Previously in:

_I took out the money I had stashed inside my clutch and put it in the glove department while clipping my ID and driver's license to the visor. All that left me with was the actual clutch and my phone. I climbed out of the car and began walking towards the front door, but when I actually got there, I hit something really hard when I tried walking through the doorway._

_Who puts a wall right behind the doorway? I looked up and noticed that what I bumped into was no wall. No wall at all._

* * *

**Chapter Three- Party Hard by Andrew W.K (Sorryyyy:]) **

**(Dimitri POV) (He's going to have another dream and if you don't like blood and guts, it won't harm anything if you don't read it. Just skip until the gray line- hopefully I can get it show up. But I am being serious… it will get a bit nasty. And these dreams only consist of Dimitri, some bad people, his mother, and his three sisters. Another person will soon join… :o)**

"No_!" I yelled, but it was too late. He punctured her heart, grinning at me as he twisted the knife further and further in. My jaw unclenched as a tear slipped out of my eye. _

"_One down, only three more to go. What'dya say, Dimitri? You gonna give up?"_

"_Never." The scene flashed before my eyes, and the man and I were now in a large storage room. It looked like it was a basement. My two sisters, Vika already having been killed, and my mother were seated in chairs with flex cuffs binding there hands and feet. _

_Sonya was showing as she was pregnant with her first child. As the man approached Sonya, I tried moving. I couldn't. I tried speaking. No sound escaped my body. _

"_What is your name, pretty girl?" He stroked the side of her face, causing her to shudder. After an eternity of silence from Sonya, he jerked her head towards him by tugging harshly on her hair. _

"_I asked you a question. I am going to ask it one more time and if you don't answer it, you'll be in for an even more of a surprise." he spat._

"_Sonya." Her name exited her mouth, her name spoken no higher than a whisper. _

"_Well, Sonya, I think I have a treat for you and your little monster." The man walked over to a closet and opened it. Most of his body covered the open space so I was not able to see much, but inside the closet held many different tools. Sharp tools, to be exact. _

_I didn't want to see this. I couldn't see this. The man turned to me. _

"_But you will see it, Dimitri." My heartbeat sped up in fright as I thought of what he was going to do to Sonya. He pulled out a saw from the closet, along with a package of knives and a screwdriver. _

Don't touch her. _I thought as he moved closer and closer to my sister. _

"_Or you'll do what? It's not like you can stop me." Sonya's flex cuffs disappeared and he slammed her onto the ground. She gasped from the impact. All of a sudden, she was bolted to the ground and she wore nothing but her undergarments. The man started up the saw. The sound it made almost made my ears bleed. He brought it down on my sister's stomach, slowly and agonizingly opening it up. Her screams echoed in the room as I could do nothing but watch. Eventually, he peeled back her stomach, with Sonya crying in horror, but luckily she soon passed out. He carved her intestines out after he pulled out the unborn child. He paused for a moment to stab Sonya through her skull with the screwdriver- not once, but three times until he started pulling out some of her brain along with pieces of her skull-_

* * *

"_Dimka! Wake up!" Someone was shaking my body. _

I opened my eyes to see Vika, Sonya, Lina, and Mama all staring down at me.

"What?" I asked in my native tongue.

"Are you alright?" Mama asked, feeling my head.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be? I'm fine."

"Vika, Sonya, Lina, can you all go an finish up the rest of the calls for me?" They all nodded and left the room.

"What did you dream about?" my mother asked, once we were alone and the door was shut.

"Nothing. What makes you think I was dreaming?" I wiped my face off that was covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Dimitri, you were yelling, 'No! No! No! No!' repeatedly."

"Mama, I'm fine. I am going to get ready for tonight." I got up of the bed and walked to the bathroom with some clothes, a towel, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste.

Normally, I would never dismiss my mother so rudely, but I couldn't bear to tell her what I dreamed about. It was too gory speak about and Mama would be absolutely petrified.

RxD=?

After getting ready, I went downstairs where I saw Lina and Vika hanging decorations. Vika was a bit taller than Lina but she was standing on her toes and still couldn't reach the banister.

"Need any help?" I asked, coming to stand in front of them.

"Yeah! You're tall… hang this up." She gave me the string that was attached to some letters that read, "Happy 32nd Dimitri!" I took the piece of tape from her outstretched hand and slapped the string and tape onto the frame. I did the same for the other side and afterwards, I helped by blowing up helium balloons. Vika took the yellow balloon out of my hand, and she was supposed to tie it, but didn't. She sucked in the helium and then grinned at me.

"_I am 1__st__ Sergeant Stan Alto and anything I command you will do! Mwahahahahaha!" _Alto's voice didn't seem very far off from her imitation. Then she began to start laughing the way he does and I couldn't hold in my laughter. It goes something like, "Aha. Hah. Haaah. Hahahahaaaa. Haaaaaaah." If that wasn't it, I wasn't far off. You know when people go to the dentist and they take the water sprayer and it makes that odd sound? Well, Alto's laugh was something like that mixed with a donkey's "Heeawhs." It was the most ridiculous laugh I had ever heard and I hoped I would never have to hear it again. He was kicked out of the Army for getting caught singing multiple times while wearing his uniform(s). **( A guy who tried out for American Idol did that and I have no clue as to why… he did that… well he wasn't kicked out I don't think but he quit… I appreciate his passion for singing but the audition was quite odd. I would post a link on my profile but I do want to offend anyone. Sorry =])**He was my neighbor now, since this is still technically my home, but I hear he stays holed up in his house, only leaving a few times every month.

"Vika, stop it. It's rude to make fun of people…" I laughed even harder when I saw my little sister on the ground, rolling around and clutching her stomach. She still had the helium in her so her laughs came out in little squeaks.

"Help-" A gasp. "Me!" More gasps left her as she was sputtering with laughter. I shook my head and fell to the ground like Viktoria, laughing until I couldn't breathe.

**(Rose POV- A lot of this chapter will be in her POV.) **

I was staring into someone's blue eyes. Very blue, in fact.

"Sorry, ladies first." This man was quite good looking. A high and tight buzz cut was the form of his blonde hair, a tight t-shirt defined the muscle that lay beneath, and dark jeans that were a bit worn out complimented the rest of the man's looks.

"Sorry. And thanks." I smiled at him, showing off my man-eater smile. I could feel his eyes on me as I entered the house, swaying my hips a little. The song had switched and "Say I Yi Yi" by the Ying Yang Twins was now playing. I saw Olena and Lissa talking next to the kitchen island, chatting very animatedly. Lissa saw me and waved me over. The house was decorated quite nicely with shiny camouflaged balloons that read happy birthday, along with some camo streamers. There were other balloons that were ordinary, but you could tell the theme they wanted was an Army theme, and let me tell you, they succeeded.

"Rose! Hello! I am so glad you could come!" Olena yelled, squeezing me tightly when we hugged.

"Here's a little gift…" I handed her the envelope that held the Amazon gift card and the last minute money that I stashed inside of it. "I was unsure of what to get him so I hope that will suffice."

"Thank you, Rose. I know he will appreciate it. Now, why don't we go and enjoy the party?" She said, locking the card along with a bunch of other gifts inside a closet. She handed me a good ole' bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager **( I don't know what beer taste like so if you do, my apologies if you hate that brand or type. I don't know what's the best beer around… I don't think I should either. ANYWAY, on with the story…) **and handed Liss a bottle of Bud Lite Lime. **(Same note mentioned before)** Even though we rarely hung out, Olena sure knew what we liked. I've tried Russian Vodka and man, that stuff was like rocket fuel being poured down your throat. Above Olena's head, I noticed they had a large stash of it… well, why wouldn't they- they're Russian. Olena had her own beer and lead us outside where people were grinding to "Say I Yi Yi" by the Ying Yang Twins. Lissa went with Christian and surprisingly, Olena grabbed some guy and started grinding with him. I was walking to the back where not many people were standing… just casually talking. I let my eyes wander and through half of the song, I saw a guy making his way towards the back, trying to get away from all the other sweaty bodies. This guy was no "guy," though. He was a freakin' god. He had an Army styled hair cut that instead of being high and tight it was more of a longer buzz cut. His body looked even more toned than the blue eyed man I saw earlier and he had such sharp looks. I was probably drooling right now because he was too sexy for his own good. He stood near the wall, sipping his drink slowly while observing everyone else around him.

_Go get him. He seems to be single. _

_**Yeah, keyword: SEEMS. He's most likely taken and I am not going to waste my time chasing after some guy I hardly know. **_

_Just go after him. You know you want to… _And I did want to. I did.

**(Dimitri POV- Right when Rose is going up to him.) **

I was trying to see if Tasha was here. I was scanning the grinding bodies when a beautiful young woman approached me.

"I've never really seen you around here before." She started off, taking a rather large gulp of her drink.

"I haven't been here in quite some time." She nodded and this time took a small sip.

"You must be anti-social." I smirked at her bluntness, taking another drink from my glass.

"Yeah, well, I don't see you mingling with the other guests. I guess that makes two of us." She scoffed.

"Yeah right! I am probably the _least _anti-social person you've ever met."

"Then why aren't you talking to anybody?"

"Just because I am not talking doesn't mean I am anti-social. I probably can't decipher if I am anti-social, I assume that would be up to my other friends, but one thing I am not is quiet. Here, take this." She handed me her beer and stood up on the table that was set up next to me.

"_HEY_!" My eyes widened in surprise at how loud she was… her voice made the Dj stop playing music and made every one turn to face her.

"Let's give-" she bent down and whispered into my ear. "Who's this party for?" I smiled inwardly and replied with, "Dimitri Belikov." She straightened back up and continued. "Let's give Dimitri Belikov a big round of applause as he returned from Afghanistan and is turning a year older this year!" Mama smiled brightly along with the rest of the family. People clapped and hollered until the Dj started slowly turning the music back up.

The strange girl hopped down from the table and I handed her, her drink.

"See?" She smiled a warm and breathtaking smile.

"Yes, I saw."

**(Rose POV- it's right after the sentence above.)**

"Do you want to go out front?" The man raised an eyebrow. I wished I could do that, but it _never _worked. I envied him for it.

"Yes, I mean out front as in Olena's front yard." He glanced somewhere before nodding very quickly.

"Let's go, shall we?" He placed his hand on the small of my back and leaded me through the house and out the front door where we sat on the large porch. It had a patio set but the chairs were occupied by cats.

"What was the rush for?" I asked, slowly sipping my beer.

"Hmm?" He turned to look at me. We were close before, but now we were almost side by side. In the dark, his face was brightened by the porch lights, adding a soft glow to him. Goodness he was gorgeous.

"You took one look to the crowd and then rushed me out here. I don't see the point in rushing… we still have a little while before the party ends."

"I… uh, saw an old… friend."

"An ex?"

"Yes." I could easily tell he didn't like talking about her or who knows… maybe him… so I didn't push. At the same time, we both looked up, admiring the stars. I saw Ursa Minor up there and then just a bunch of other pretty stars.

For someone I hardly knew, I felt comfortable around him. We sat there in a really comfortable silence until it was time for cake. We were out here for a good hour- which was crazy because I have the attention span of a squirrel. The man said we should probably go in so he stood up and opened the door for me. I smiled softly and disposed of my now empty bottle and went into the dining room were there was a large table that one huge-ass cake on it. It read,

"_Happy 32__nd__ Dimitri! Thirty-two and still going strong!_" Dimitri was thirty-two? I thought this whole time he was nineteen. Seven years apart wasn't too bad… I just wanted to see what he looked like.

"Dimka! Get your butt over here!" Viktoria yelled, her eyes searching for someone in my direction. The man muttered next to me, "Do I really have to?" My eyes widened in realization. Dimitri Belikov was standing/sitting/ _near me the whole freaking time!_ I felt awful now that I asked him earlier who this party was for and I was asking the birthday boy himself.

"Oh goodness- I am so sorry-" I began, but he stopped me. "No need. You didn't know." He smiled an award winning smile and made his way up to his sisters, his eyes directed to the ground while his hands were shoved in his pockets.

"Everybody- Haaaappy birrrrtthddaaayyyy to youu!" Viktoria smiled brightly while she sang the one and only "Happy Birthday Song" to her older brother. It was so miniscule I barely caught it, but I saw Dimitri slightly cringe at the horrifying "Happy Birthday" tune.

He smiled one of his breathtaking smiles and grinned mischievously at his sister. While Olena was cutting everyone cake, Dimitri took his first bite and behind him I saw Karolina place a miniature cake into his hand. He brought it around him and took her plate out of her hands, confusing the poor girl. She had no idea what was coming for her. He brought it closer to her face as she looked at him weirdly. Her eyes popped open but sadly, it was too late.

He brought her face down onto the cake, and even took some of the cake that wasn't stuck to her face and rubbed it into her hair, kind of like when you rub shampoo into your hair. The guests all rumbled with laugher as she gave her older brother the death glare. She grabbed two fistfuls of cake and chased him down the hall, making everyone laugh even harder at the display. Olena just shook her head. I didn't want any cake so I went off in search of a toilet. I hadn't pissed since this morning and I really had to go. I walked down the hall and opened a door on the right- nope, coat closet. There was another door on the right- no, it was the cleaning supply closet. The next room up the hall was on the left so I opened it, but only to see a shirtless Dimitri.

And let me tell you, it was one hell of a sight.

* * *

**Gosh… there were too many of those side notes but- The Ursa Minor is supposed to show up this year at 9 pm, 25****th**** of June, but for the story's sake we are going to pretend it shows up on the 26****th**** because Dimitri's birthday is going to be on Wednesday, the 27****th****. **

**I am dearly sorry for not updating faster and not even giving you guys a good chapter. I know it's sloppy, short, and just pure BLEGH! I was going to make it longer, but it's past two o'clock in the morning and I have to get up early in the morning and then go to some kinda cookout later on that day that will last for a very long time. Take notice that I am not good with not getting at least eight hours of sleep. :P **

**Anyway, I hope that chapter didn't make your eyes bleed and I will try my hardest to make the next chapter longer, more entertaining/fun to read, not-so-sloppy, and well, just better. I probably won't be updating before Memorial Day so.. Yeah. I hope you guys/gals have a fantastic Memorial Day and I will update as soon I can! Thank you so much for reviewing. You guys are the ! I still can't get over the fact that flipping eighteen of you reviewed! Ah! It means so much to me! They motivate, people. Reviews are such wonderful things. Anyway, yeah. Sorry… I am babbling again aren't I? Uh, yeah. Have a great rest of the three-day weekend and um… thanks! Yours truly,**

**~R. XD**

**P.S. I apologize for any mistakes! I am working on getting a beta! (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! I would have update faster but I went out of town and wanted to update my other story first… if you are reading my other story, please check out the author's note I left. I'd like to thank **

Mademoisellesnow, hotxdangerous, xFearlesssmilex, lovingbites, LuPeters, matsu23, ItaSaku1, KickAssRoseHathaway, anon, and Do'B.

**Sorry for any mistakes, I am trying to type as fast as I can because I don't have much time… Weird… I don't have much to say. (: **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD! ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R!)**

Previously in I'm Now Content in My Little World:

_I walked down the hall and opened a door on the right- nope, coat closet. There was another door on the right- no, it was the cleaning supply closet. The next room up the hall was on the left so I opened it, but only to see a shirtless Dimitri._

_And let me tell you, it was one hell of a sight._

* * *

**Chapter Four- I've Got To See You Again by Norah Jones**

**(Rose POV)**

Dimitri was getting ready to place his cake-ruined in the washer, but he stopped when his sister said something in Russian, causing him to laugh and hurl his shirt at her. She neatly dodged it, but I was right behind her, making his shirt land on me instead. My hand was still posed on the doorknob, making no move to move his shirt.

"Shit! Vika, you weren't supposed to move!" I heard footsteps rush towards me and someone yanked the shirt off. My eyes met with a tan, muscular, hairless, sexy chest. I must've looked like an idiot, staring wide eyed at his chest, checking him out, not being secretive about it at all.

"I'll be leaving now." Viktoria said, bringing me out of my fantasizing, making my head snap up and meet warm, brown, mesmerizing orbs.

"Sorry." He said, voice clipped, his face not showing any emotion, though through his eyes I could see a hint of amusement.

"Ah, it's okay." Up close, his aftershave was even stronger and I swore my mouth was

watering. I shook my head to rearrange my hair that I felt had went in different directions after he pulled his shirt off my head. To my disappointment, he stepped away and slipped another shirt on that had been hanging on a rack. With each movement, his muscles rippled and I almost moaned. Goodness he was a sight to look at.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in… I was looking for a bathroom. He chuckled and stepped pass me, motioning for me to follow. I hesitated, but followed anyway.

"There are five bathrooms in the house. If you had skipped this room and gone one down, you would have found one." He said smirking, while pushing a door open. What I saw shocked me. Christian and Lissa were making out, Lissa sitting on the sink counter with her legs crossed behind Christian's back while she threaded her fingers through his hair. They broke apart, both heavily intoxicated and looked at us. Well, they looked heavily intoxicated, but they weren't.

"Lissa?" I asked the same time Dimitri asked "Christian?"

"Look, I don't know what you two are doing making out in the bathroom, I am going to go take a piss because I haven't pissed since this morning. Now, shoo." They both left the room and with a quick thanks to Dimitri, I finally got to use the bathroom. I was quick and washed my hands, exiting the bathroom and looked around. I lost them again. However, if I knew what room Cj was in, I'd be able to stay with him until Lissa stopped by.

I spotted Olena grabbing a rag out of the cleaning supply closet.

"Olena!" She saw me and smiled. I rushed up to her, asking where Sydney and the kids were. She said to go up the two sets of stairs and take a right and then go straight to the room on the end of the hallway. Their house wasn't as big as mine, but it was still fairly large. I listened to her and opened the door where I saw Cj, five other kids, Christian, Dimitri, and Sydney. I started to turn around, not wanting to really see Dimitri after the awkward encounter, but Sydney shouted my last name. With a forced smile, I turned to look at her.

"Hey."

"How are you?"

"I'm doing good, you?"

"Perfect. Cj's been wondering where you were." My smile turned into a real one as I glanced at him watching that wolf movie… Alpha and Omega- I think.

"Cj." No answer.

"Cj." Still no answer.

"Fire boy?" He saw me and jumped up and into my arms.

"Auntie Ro!" I kissed him on the cheek.

"I missed you." he said, resting his head on my shoulder.

"But I've only been gone for a few hours bud." He frowned.

"I know, but you're like my second mommy. Mommy hasn't come yet."

"Don't worry, your second mommy and daddy here." I said, bouncing him up and down a little to make him happier.

"Pssh, Cj, Auntie Ro can't be your second mommy, we don't get along. I would never marry that." Christian said, grinning. Mini Christian had a Lego in his hand- I hated those… step on one and it feels like stabbing you in the foot- and chucked it at his father's head. Got him right in the temple.

"Ow! Cj, you're not supposed to hit your daddy."

"And you're not supposed to insult my second mommy." Dimitri and I chuckled while big Christian and small Christian had a stare down. Cj narrowed his eyes at his dad, jutting out his lower lip. I set Cj down as Christian put his hands on his hips and laughed as Cj repeated the motion. Christian finally gave up.

"Jeez, what have you done to my kid?" he asked in disbelief as Cj went up to Dimitri.

"That's what you get Fire Crotch for leaving your boy with me. Not my fault I helped raise him to be awesome." Dimitri bent down and stuck his hand out.

"Hi, I'm Dimitri, one of your daddy's friends."

"Hello, I'm Cj, my dad's kid." They both smiled and spoke a minute or two more longer before Cj went and sat down and continued watching the movie.

"So, Dimitri, how do you know Christian?"

"I set Lissa and Christian up." he said, smirking at Christian.

"That was you? I was wondering who helped my best friend find love. It's sweet, now I have a punching bag and an adorable nephew. Thanks for that." I said, punching Christian on his shoulder.

"Ow, shit, I think you popped something." Christian rubbed his shoulder.

"Language, Sparky, language."

"Yeah yeah," He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one who swears like a sailor." I dramatically gasped, bringing a hand to my mouth.

"I do no such thing!"

"Why do you call him 'Sparky' and 'Fire Crotch'?" Dimitri asked, looking at Christian.

"One time, I accidentally heated up aluminum foil… I caught their microwave on fire and when he tried putting it out, he only made it worse. That and when he pulled the aluminum foil out, he got fire on his crotch ."

"Nice, man. Nice." Dimitri said, patting Christian on the back.

"I'm leaving. You two won't leave me alone."

"Aw, come on Pyro. Don't be such a baby." I slung my arm around him and gave him another noogie.

"Roossee." Christian complained. I rolled my eyes and let go.

"I'm out. Bye Cj, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye Auntie Ro!" Dimitri had disappeared off to somewhere and I left the room. I walked out into the hall and down one flight of stairs where I heard quiet arguing.

"There's no way that's my kid, Tasha!" Dimitri? And Tasha?

"He's yours! I swear!"

"Tasha, I haven't had sex with you in over nine years! How can you expect me to believe that!"

"I… I… I- um, well…"

"Exactly. I want you to leave Tasha. Get out of my house."

"But I love you. Please, please come back."

"No." His voice was so cold… unlike the soft, kind, loving one I heard earlier. Her sobs echoed in the empty hallway as she ran past me, holding her stomach. I should have gotten my ass out of there but I stayed frozen in my spot, forgetting that he could turn the corner at any second. I heard light footsteps rounding the corner and he stopped when he saw me.

"Sorry. I was just leaving and I was-"

"Let me guess, you heard the whole thing?" I looked down at my feet and nodded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It was rude of me."

"It's cool. Just don't tell anyone, please."

"You're secret's safe with me." He softly smiled at me and was about to ask a question but hesitated.

"What?" I asked.

"Would you like to go to a bonfire with me this weekend? It's a celebration for Ivan and Eddie and I."

"Isn't that what we're celebrating today?"

"No, this is for my birthday."

"Oh." I looked back up to see him looking down at the floor while rubbing his neck. I couldn't stop the small smile that came across my face.

"Sure. I'd love to." He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, not knowing I could hear it.

"You got a pen?" I asked him.

"Yeah, one sec." He went into a room and came back with a pen, a Sharpie, and a Sharpie Pen.

"I didn't know which one you'd want…" I giggled- holy shit. I giggled. Rose Hathaway doesn't giggle, giggling is for- ah never mind. I barely knew Dimitri and he already had me giggling. I took the Sharpie Pen and grabbed his right arm. He raised an eyebrow but I ignored him as I neatly wrote my name and number on the inside of his wrist. He examined it before taking the Sharpie Pen back.

"I'll see you around, Comrade."

"Comrade?"

"It fits." I said, winking and walking away. Goodness, I hadn't done that in so long. It felt good to act like a giddy teenager. I practically ran down the stairs, hopping around with glee. I spotted Lissa talking to some chick- I recognized her to me Mia from the hospital, but I dragged her away, asking if I could borrow Lissa for two seconds.

"What? Why are you so happy?"

"I gave him my number!" I whisper-yelled.

"Who's number?"

"The hottie's number!"

"Rose, I don't know who the 'hottie' is."

"The birthday boy! Dimitri!"

"Oh, him? I'd so tap that! He's so hot?" I attempted raising an eyebrow at her, but failed. She just called someone other than her husband hot.

"What? Just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't think other men are hot." she said, nonchalantly. I just shook my head as I beamed with excitement.

"He looks pretty happy too."

"Where?" My eyes scanned the room until I saw him walking down the staircase with a grin spread across his face. "Are you going to the bonfire too?"

"Yeah. Christian said he got me a horse on the ranch it's gonna be on."

"Sparkles bought you a horse?" I asked, already snickering away.

"Yes! He named her Beauty." I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked, confusion written across her face.

"He bought you a horse and named her Beauty. Oh wow."

"Yes! He said he named her Beauty because we had the same color hair and she reminded him of me!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Lissa frowned at my laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny."

"Never mind, Liss. Just never mind. Do you even know how to ride a horse?"

"No, which is exactly why I signed up Christian and I up for the 'Couple Horseback Riding' class." I shook my head, laughing again as I pictured Christian falling off of a yellow horse.

"I really don't get it, Rose. I thought it was sweet."

"It's cheesy. Corny."

"Which is why it's sweet!"

We argued back and forth the rest of the night.

**I have to end the story short! Sorry! Until next time! **

**~R. :D! Sorry for the sucky chap! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! So, it's been about… I don't know… FOREVER and I'm incredibly sorry! SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! DDD; Like, you don't even know how incredibly sorry I am for not updating in forever. And I am going to try to make my updates more consistent because I really don't like them being so sporadic… if I cannot do that, then I will just try to update at least once a week, but keep in mind that I am starting high school soon and I know I will have loads of homework because I am a slower learner… For example, it takes me a little longer to understand the math problems and what not. I don't get them immediately like the other students, but I manage to keep decent grades… nothing lower than a C. (: Anyway, I won't have much time to update my stories… they might even turn into once-a-month updates, though I really hope I don't have to do that and that they'll be frequent. **

**For those of you who are reading Rosemarie Hathaway, The One and Only, I am going to try to update after this chapter. But I am going to warn you know that they are going to start becoming shorter. About one thousand or less per chapter, but that way you'll get more out of them. This story might be shortened… the chapters I mean… once I start school. X_x I hate being busy -.- I really hope my mom gets another laptop so I can have this one, meaning I'd be able to type ALL THE TIME! But no. I have to wait till she isn't using it. **

**(*$9! ## $()($p+%! I used to have a laptop, but it crashed a while ago, and it's meant for entertaining purposes anyway. Not typing… It was mini. ^o^ Anywhoo, on with the thanks to the lovely reviewers! **

**A big thank you tooooo-**

LuPeters, Itasaku, RozaDimka, lovingbites, Comrade, Shawna, littlebadgirl2904, matsu3, Maria, Do'B, Rose Melissa Ivashkov, Guest, CookieStorm, and XxDudealiciousxX.

**Comrade-**

I'm glad you think this story is great, but must I remind you that this story is slightly OCC? I don't really have an issue with the way Rose spoke… it just wasn't feral to me. Unladylike? Yes. Feral? Not really. Rose is already rambunctious herself, so if you don't like the way she speaks and that makes you change your mind about my story, then so be it. If you continue reading the story, thanks, but if you don't like it, then just don't read it. I appreciate you voicing your opinion though. Thanks. And sorry if I sound like a total jerk, but I just wanted to tell you that. Also, I am working on going back and editing every single one of my chapters and whenever I can, I will be taking these down and reposting the edited ones up. Thanks for the review anyway… [:

**Maria-**

Will you email me on your DSI the information about your acc. So I can post your chapter? Or will you let me know? And will you tell me why you're grounded? Dorothy wants to know… :/ And yes, I do too… If it's too uncomfortable for you to talk about, s'cool. But try to get back to me, Mo! :]

**Do'B- **

Once again, I don't mind how Rose speaks, but if you don't like it, sorry, I'm not going to change it… Well, sorry again, because I said you didn't like it and I don't know if you did or not since it just said you were shocked… anyway, I'm glad you like the story and are looking forward to the next updates. As for wanting to know why Tasha took Cj and how Christian's confrontation will turn out, you'll find out in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing. (:

**Rose Melissa Ivashkov-**

Hey hey hey! Mel Melly Melly Mel Mel! You're the lucky FIFTHIETH REVIEWER! You will receive a snippet of the next chapter, though you'll probably have to remind me. I forget… :/ Heh. But thanks for leaving those lovely long reviews! They're so greatly appreciated! :D SO, if you are reading this, you know to remind me of the snippet. Unlike you, I don't give out parts of chapters- but only because I never have time to. But thanks anyway girl! :D

**CookieStorm-**

Hello! You say hi, I say hello. (: Lol, I totally love your PenName. ^-^ I don't know why, but when I read your review, I started crying! I have never cried over reviews… I may have split my face into two, but I have never cried! I don't even know! I don't know if it was the "I couldn't sleep until I caught up." because I relate to it so much, or if it was "I just started reading this today and I love it!" I just don't know, but it made me cry. Here's the chapter and thanks a billion for reviewing!

**XxDudealiciousxX-**

Thanks! It's wonderful to know that you enjoy it! I hope I won't disappoint in the future! :D

**Thanks a bajillion for adding me to your alerts, favorites, and reviewing guys! Or Chickadees! :D **

**Recommendations- **

RozaRoseBelikov's stories- **My fellow readers and followers and reviewers, if you could go check her story out, it would be beneficial to her and myself. She's like me and she runs off of reviews for motivations… opinions mostly, but she deserves reviews. I know she didn't actually want to start posting her stuff on FanFiction. She was extremely reluctant, but now, she does it, but doesn't get much feedback. Please leave her a review… it'd be awesome to see her happy. (: **

Littlebadgirl2904's **stories! :D**

Rose Melissa Ivashkov's-** Not Settled, I Settle. It's awesome and if you like Rose and Adrian stories, she has plenty of those too! (: **

**If you'd like me to recommend, then I'll gladly do it! These girls didn't, but I just wanted to tell you guys in hopes of you checking their stories out. **

**I'd like to apologize for the previous chapter… I was going to stop after writing a little more, but my mother had come home from work and was yelling at me to get off the laptop so she could watch her show. I ended that chapter badly- I don't know if you all caught it, but in the end, when they were talking about the phone numbers, I made Rose say she had Dimitri's number- which was not true, because it's the other way around. Yeah. Sorry for the awful chapter- hopefully this one will turn out better. Did you all know it took me tem days to get this chapter out? Isn't that crazy? TEN DAYS! On with the story, shall we? That was quite long for an author's note…**

**WAIT! **

**Question: Has anyone bought the Frostbite Graphic Novel? To be honest, I was really disappointed. The first one was alright, but this one? She had so many things wrong… my sister doesn't want to go see the movie with me in 2013 because she said I'm going to criticize everything. It's true… I wouldn't shut up about the book… I mean, come on! Who messes up on Adrian's eye color? IT'S GREEN NOT BLUE! Well, I don't really know about you all, but it looked blue. Maybe it is green, but if it is, then she should've made it more green. Eh, I shouldn't be so judgy, but it's hard not to. -.- Anyway, I'm going to continue with the disclaimers because if I don't, I won't stop blabbering. Oh, and this chapter will be kind of a filler. Just a warning… **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY! ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD! ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF DIMKAISSHMEXY24 (R.) and NO ONE else! **

Previously in I'm Now Content in My Little World:

_"It's cheesy. Corny."_

_"Which is why it's sweet!"_

_We argued back and forth the rest of the night._

* * *

**Chapter Five- American Soldier by Toby Keith (I don't know about you guys, but I don't like country music that much- but this song is really sweet, so I actually like it. :])**

**(Dimitri POV) **

Last night, after everyone had left, I helped the family clean up with the mess and then lugged all the presents up to my room. I didn't see the point in people giving me any presents because I wouldn't use have of the things people bought me. Someone bought me "Mane 'n Tail" shampoo and conditioner. I would have preferred that they just hadn't bought me anything. Someone else bought a rug.

In all honesty, who get's a rug for their birthday? I appreciated what people did for me, but I don't like getting presents… I never have. The chances were that I'd give most of these items to my sisters, Mama, and Babushka, and then donate the rest to wherever. Mama gave me the money and told me to put it in my bank account, but I wanted to give it to the animal shelter. After persuading her, she made a proposition to where I'd put half into the bank and half to the shelter, and knowing that was the most I'd get out of her, I accepted.

It was a total of one-thousand one-hundred twenty dollars. People were so generous towards me, but they couldn't be oh so generous to the animal shelter or the homeless shelter or some sort of charity? Crazy.

Last night, I didn't have the usual nightmare. Instead, I got a full night's sleep and dreamt about her. She was the most beautiful creation ever known to mankind! Even when I got up this morning, I couldn't even stop thinking about her.

Currently, I was lying in bed, still thinking about Roza while staring at the ceiling. I'd been up for a good two hours, just thinking. I didn't want to think about anything else but her, however, Vika bounced into my room.

"Dimka, get up! It's your birthday!" Was it? Last night was just the party. I hate birthday celebrations.

"Okay."

"'Okay?' 'Okay?' 'OH- kay' is all you have to say? It's your birthday, Dimka! Aren't you excited for presents and going out and-"

"We're going out?" I stared at my sister, hoping she was kidding.

"Well, we're not really going out going out. Like, not to some crazy fancy place, but we're going to this place called Dean's Deli. The have the best food there. So, get your manly butt up and go get ready. Dress casually!" She beamed with excitement as she bounced back out of my room. I rolled my eyes, even though she wasn't here to see, and did as she said, grabbing some things and heading towards the bathroom.

RxD=?

We had all settled down in the living room. Karolina, Sonya, Vika, Paul, Zoya, Mama, and Babushka. Zoya had only just met me, but she had taken a liking to me quickly, which I was grateful for. She is eight years younger than Paul, who is currently fourteen.

"Open ours first!" Vika shoved a neatly wrapped square into my face. I guessed her and Paul double-teamed and brainstormed on what to get me since he -no offense to Paul- wasn't very creative.

"More presents?" I complained. Mama sighed as she explained what we were doing.

"You'll open your presents and then we're going to Dean's. No excuses, understood? Afterwards, like a big happy family, we're going to go watch a movie."

"Alright." She smiled and motioned for me to open up Vika and Paul's present. I opened it, taking my time, which caused a few to grumble, and laughed when I saw what was inside.

"Insanity." I read aloud. Insanity was a supposedly extreme, hardcore, and sweaty workout. I enjoyed working out but sometimes the gym just wasn't something that met my standards. I had seen plenty of infomercials for Insanity, but I wanted to test it out. It was like P90X but more difficult, apparently, and it's said to be the hardest workout ever copied onto a DVD.

"Thank you, Viktoria, Paul." My little sister smiled.

"You're welcome. I know you don't like us getting anything for you if you can't put it to use." I smiled and nodded in agreement. Paul handed me the second part of their gift that they got me. Or gifts rather. It was a large rectangle that looked to be in a cardboard box. It too was wrapped nicely, and I could bet a lot of money that he wasn't the one who actually wrapped the gift. He handed it to me as I, once again, slowly opened it. It was a pull up bar, and the other bag that also held a gift from himself and my sister was a set of five dumbbells. I smiled and thanked them. Karolina was next. She bought me some athletic clothes and two new pairs of tennis shoes. Sonya got me some more Western movies and books, and some Levi jeans. What Mama got me honestly shocked me. A Beretta 9mm pistol. **(Pic-link on profile)**

"Do you like it?" Mama asked.

"I love it. I'll have to go shooting at some point."

"Uncle Dimka, can I go?" Paul asked me.

"Sure thing. We'll go before I go back; how does that sound?"

"It sounds like a plan." I nodded and took everything upstairs while everyone else was getting into their cars. Mama, Vika, and Paul were together and Sonya, Lina, and Zoya were riding together. I had my truck **(black Ford F150- Pic-link on profile) **that I was going to take to the deli and movies. Mama was in the kitchen, getting her purse and Babushka was still sitting in the living room.

"Dima **(Is that a chick's nickname? Or a dudes? I just wanted it to sound more formal… because I have no idea what the nicknames are even though I Googled it a bajillion times…)** , come here." I went over to the old yet strong woman who was squeezing something in her hand.

"Yes, Babushka?"

"This-" she held her and out and I put my hand beneath hers, feeling a small, black, velvet case drop into it. "was mine, your mother's, and also your great grandmother's." That was all she said to me as she stood up and slowly walked upstairs. I opened the box to see a ring, but what was I supposed to do with it? Well, yeah, I knew that it was supposed to be worn by a woman, and it was obviously an engagement ring, but chances were that I wouldn't ever give it to anybody. I've been searching for what seemed like forever, but no one ever really understood me for my real self. I assume Mama or Babushka were the closest to understand me as myself, but some things they still didn't get. Though I am starting to doubt my thoughts about Babushka because of the things she's telling me, even if I don't understand the majority of it… like the other day-

_Tonight is the night you'll find your desire, grandson, and I tell you now that the future is always forward. Not past, not present. Whichever way you choose, it is in your hands. Be careful. You can feed the baby birds worms, but you cannot give the baby birds of all hearts, and expect them to be able to grow themselves. _

That left me so incredibly confused.

_Think about it later. You have to go and celebrate your birthday. _

_Hooray. _

I listened to my conscience and ran upstairs, placing the ring in my side table drawer before rushing back out of the house.

**(Rose POV)**

I woke up this morning with surprisingly- no headache, but back pain. I took a look around and realized that I hadn't even made it into my house, for I was still sitting in my car. This was a fantastic way to start off a morning. Wake up in your car because you couldn't even make it into the house. My cell started ringing, but I couldn't find it. After searching everywhere, I finally saw it buzzing around on the car floor. Without bothering to look at caller ID, I answered.

"Rose Hathaway speaking."

"_Rose! It's ten-sixteen! Are you coming in today?_"

"Oh! Uh, yeah. Sorry, I slept in. I'll be there soon."

"_Okay. Even though it's Wednesday, we're gonna be busy. A lot of people are rushing in and outta here like there's no tomarra! I expect you to be here in no less than twenty, Rose. Now that Destiny's gone, we need your help. Jordan's on that college trip and poor Alberta's rushin' back and forth between the grill and sub-line!_"

"Yeah. I'll be there in no less than twenty."

"_Alright. Thanks, Rosie. I'll let you go now._"

"Mmhm. Yeah- it's no problem. See you soon."

I hung up, grabbed my stuff, and ran inside, heading straight for the shower. I dropped my things on the sink counter and turned the shower nozzle to hot before jumping in, lathering my hair in melon shampoo while washing my body with some freesia body wash. I shaved yesterday before the party so I was good until tomorrow, meaning I was able to wear the outfit I had planned. Shorts and a tank top really, but it was still cute. I rinsed my conditioner out shortly before hopping back out, drying myself off quickly with a towel as I brushed my hair and teeth. Going into my bedroom, I pulled out the gray, black, and white striped tank top while putting on some black jean shorts that came one fourth above my knee. I ran back into the bathroom now fully dressed and placed my hair into a side braid while pinning my long bangs to the side with some bobby pins. Slipping on my gray and black Nike tennis shoes, I was ready to go.

RxD=?

"I'm here!" I exclaimed, bursting through entrance for employees. Alberta noticed me and narrowed her eyes. For work, surprisingly, I was never late, even if I did go to parties or places with a lot of alcohol. I had no clue as to why I was so late… maybe it was my dreams. Those amazing dreams. I couldn't get rid of him even if I wanted to; it was like he was burned into my brain.

"Good!" Alberta told me, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Sub-line, now."

"Welcome to Dean's Deli, how may I help you?" I asked, my hand poised to write on the order sheet.

"I'll get the Berta Special please- no onions." My head snapped up at the person's voice. He was looking down, observing the salad, and when I didn't do anything, he looked up too. A small grin graced his lips as he glanced at me before returning his attention to the salads.

"That all?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay. You're number seventy-three." I tore off the little number flap at the bottom and gave it to him, moving backwards to give Alberta the order.

"So, you're stalking me?" he casually asked while I placed cake slices onto the metal shelf.

"You wish. I volunteer to work here every day." He smirked.

"If anything, I would guess it's the other way around. Are _you _stalking _me_?" I asked, now restocking the chips.

"Nope," he said, popping the "p." "Just here to eat some lunch with my family. They tell me Dean's Deli is the best place to eat in town."

"It sure is. So," I paused to take another man's order. "What time is the bonfire?"

"At eight on Saturday. It's supposed last until twelve or so."

"That's great… but, uh, where's it at?" I opened a back of tortilla chips and dumped them into the tray. We had different items on the menu such as the Berta Special, which was a hamburger with cheese or without, it was optional, and it came with fries or tater-tots and a drink. But then we had the daily special which today was Nacho Mix. REAL meat, nacho cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, green onions. The sides were salad, rice, or beans and you could choose two of the three. I thought the food here was amazing, but I wasn't a huge fan of Mexican food. American fatty food was more my style.

I made two more orders before he was able to answer me.

"It's on my sister's ranch. Do you know Karolina?"

"Yes, but I've never been there. Is it in town?"

"Just along the outskirts of it. If you want, I can give you a ride?" His head was bent downwards again as he rubbed his neck. His offer sounded more like a question than it did an offer.

I smiled inwardly at his shyness and said, "Sure. Do you want to meet somewhere… or get me from my house… or me drive to your place and go from there?"

"I can pick you up from your house if you give me an address."

"Alright, hold on." I took four more orders and then got a piece of paper, writing my address as neatly as I could without taking too much time.

"Here. When you get to the gate I'll let you in."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan."

"Mmhm." We stood there in comfortable silence as I realized that he still hadn't gotten his food. "I'll be right back."

"Alberta?" I called, heading towards the back.

"Yes?" She replied.

"Did you get that Berta Special I sent back?"

"Yeah, I decided to wait on it though," she said, winking. "I wouldn't want to interrupt your little friendly chat." I rolled my eyes and laughed as she handed me his order. I noticed it wasn't at all sloppy and it was extremely well put together. She wanted to prove that Dean's recipes were the best as much as I did. I smiled and walked out with his basket of food.

"Here you go. One Berta Special, with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and no onions. Sorry it took so long."

"No, it's fine. It looks like it's going to be worth the wait." he told me, taking the food from my outstretched hands.

"Well, I guess I'll see you Saturday?"

"Yeah. I'll pick you up a quarter till eight since it's a good half-hour drive, maybe longer."

"Alright. I'll be ready by then." He smiled and gave a little wave with his left hand, walking over to the rest of his family who were already digging in. We had been speaking for a good fifteen minutes and I realized there were a lot more people in line than there were before.

"Hi, welcome to Dean's Deli, how may I help you?" Dean was right- people were going in and out like there seriously was no tomorrow. However, Dimitri and his family stayed for quite a few hours. Olena actually helped since she knew Dean and Alberta very well and her daughters helped out too while Dimitri helped me with carrying things around.

I found out it was actually his birthday today- the twenty-seventh of June. I tried to convince him not to do anything but he insisted, and if I tried taking the things out of his arms, he'd just tighten his already iron grip on the items and wait for me to tire of trying.

When we were beginning to close, Tasha, Jesse, Christian, Lissa, and Cj barged in. Christian was going on some kind of a rampage while holding a frightened Cj in his arms. Liss was doing a poor job of calming him down.

"Woah, what's going on here?" I yelled as I came out from behind the kitchen. Everyone had actually gone out by now except for myself, Alberta, Dean, Dimitri, and his family.

"YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON?" Christian roared, making little Cj's eyes widen even more. He had small silent tears streaming down his face, shaking in his father's arms.

"Christian, you need to calm down."

"How can I when I just found out that- that my aunt, my aunt, who is practically my _mother_, tried selling my kid for meth and crank? Huh? Tell me how because I don't know!"

"Come here, baby boy." I took Cj from the fuming Christian, soothingly rocking him against my chest. Olena came up to me, offering to take Cj to the back where her and her daughters would watch him and calm him down.

"Thank you." I trusted them enough. After they disappeared, Alberta tagging along, I turned to face Christian, Lissa, Tasha, and Jesse.

**(3rd Person POV) **

"So you broke into my house to sell my nephew for drugs?" Rose was getting angry quickly and if Tasha tried anything else, Rose wouldn't be able to stop herself from beating Tasha to a bloody pulp.

"He isn't your nephew!" she spat.

"He's close enough and I treat him like he's family- blood related or not. Are you out of your mind? You'd sell a kid- your great-nephew- for some drugs that will end up hurting your own child? There's no point in doing that!" Rose roared.

"I didn't have the money to buy what I wanted so I resorted to my second option." _She resorted to her "_second option_" like it was her only option, _Rose thought, fuming.

"Your "_second option_?" What would happen next? How in the world are you supposed to explain to your nephew and his wife that you sold their child to get a fix?"

"I was going to put the blame on you! You don't deserve to be in their life! You can go rot in a grave for all I care!"

"What did I do to make you hate me? I haven't been anything but nice towards you!"

"You. Killed. Mason." She didn't. Rose had been told Mason's death wasn't her fault. That it couldn't have been her fault...

"I didn't kill him! It was his own choice!" Rose screamed.

"Oh yeah? Why did he leave in the first place? Because you encouraged him to. If you didn't, he wouldn't have left and he wouldn't have died!" Rose couldn't handle it. She wanted to cry, being blamed for one of her best friend's death, but she wouldn't look weak. She wouldn't let Tasha win.

Rose walked up to Tasha, almost to where they were nose to nose. Tasha could see the fury blazing in Rose eyes, but she didn't miss the hurt that flashed by. She knew she had hit one of Rose's soft spots. Tasha smirked as she looked at the broken Rose.

"Mason has nothing to do with this! If you ever come within ten feet of my nephew ever again, you'll live a painful death and I'll make sure of it." Rose hissed.

Rose pulled her hand back, and swung. She caught Tasha in the face, knowing she couldn't hit anywhere near her stomach. That was the second time Rose had hit Tasha, in the nose and the thought of Tasha's nose being broken before was completely forgotten. Jesse grabbed Tasha and dragged her over to a chair before she could fall, not wanting to hurt her child.

Christian took Rose, not wanting her to hit anyone else. As much as Christian disliked his aunt at the moment, he didn't want Rose hurting this child that Tasha was apparently carrying.

"Let me go, Christian. I'm not going to hit anyone again," Rose told the man that had an iron grip on her arm. After he did, Rose turned to Tasha, but before she could say anything, Tasha "broke down."

"I'm sorry, Christian! I'm sorry! But I was high on the stuff when I went to get him, and I didn't know what I was doing! I'm sorry!" Rose saw right through it.

"Tasha, you know what they say. 'It's never the addiction. It's always the addict.' You weren't on it when you broke in. You knew exactly what you were doing, so do yourself a favor and quit feeding us all these excuses. Go to some rehabilitation center, and until you do, you're going to keep your distance. If you don't, you're going to regret it. Is that clear?" Tasha's head hung, knowing fully well that Rose was right. If she wanted to take care of the child in her stomach, then she'd need to fix her life. She liked Rose, besides the fact that Dimka was already attracted to her, and she didn't really believe that Rose's decision had Mason killed. She was only supporting one of her best friends. She didn't know what she was thinking when she was going to sell her great-nephew for some more drugs. She was a sick and twisted woman, and she needed to fix it.

"Okay." Tasha murmured, knowing she'd have to drop Jesse too.

"What?" Rose asked, confused, not knowing her words had actually hit Tasha so deeply.

"I'll go to a rehabilitation center today and change myself. I really am sorry for all the pain I have cause you, Lissa, and Christian. Thank you for making me realize that I need to get myself straight. Goodbye."

"Tash, what are you doing?" Jesse asked, incredulous. Tasha spun around angrily and faced her fix-it-up partner.

"I am switching paths and making sure I don't die five years earlier than I am supposed to. You should try it." she stated, placing her hand over her stomach. With that said, she walked out the door, ready to start her new life, ridding herself of all the bad things and people of her old one.

Everyone stayed silent as they all stood there, beyond shocked at what had just happened.

**(Rose POV)**

I was the first to break the silence.

"I'm leaving," I told Christian and Lissa. "and I promised Cj we'd go swimming. Is that okay with you?" They both nodded. When I walked back towards the kitchen, I avoided any eye contact with Dimitri. To be honest, I was embarrassed that he had to witness that. I knew Dean understood, but I barely knew the man I was already falling head over heels for. I didn't know if I'd be some sort of psycho in his eyes or still the same person he met the night before. I tried walking past him, but his hand latched onto my bare arm, sending my heart racing.

"Yes?" I asked quietly, moving my body to face him. Lissa, Christian, and Dean headed to the back, just leaving him and me to talk. Or, well, me rather, because he didn't answer me. He did let go though, that little bit of fire exiting my body as quickly as it came.

"Listen, I wish you didn't have to see that, and you probably think I am crazy, but-"

"Roza, I don't think you're crazy. What you did was great…"

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"What you did was great and amazing. For all the years I have known Tasha, she has never taken anyone's words so seriously to where she'd turn her life around." I smiled slightly.

"I'm not going to judge you for yelling at her to get her life straight. I'm really glad you did that." I blushed and looked down, mumbling a "thanks."

He chuckled softly as we met eye to eye, neither of us saying anything. Dimitri opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and smiled a smile that lit up my world. Straight, sparkling, blazing, white teeth.

"I have to go, but… Saturday?" I nodded and smiled, watching him wave and exit through the front.

"Saturday." I called. He turned around giving me that award-winning smile again before sliding out the door and into a huge black truck.

When I went to the back, I noticed Alberta had left, along with all of the Belikovs. Christian and Lissa were whispering to each other quietly and Dean was sitting in a chair, while Cj was standing on his knees, giggling, trying to keep his balance.

"I'm going home now… Cj, are you ready?" he nodded and hopped off of Dean's lap, rushing to me as I scooped him up in my arms.

"Aren't you going to say bye to mommy and daddy?" He nodded, but very cautiously as I set him down and watched him slowly approach his mom, and then taking his sweet old time while approaching his dad. It was like Christian was the cheese on the mousetrap and Cj was the mouse. The poor kid was terrified of his father now.

"Cj?" His wide eyes looked up at his dad, even though he had bent down so he was closer to the height of his son. "I'm sorry buddy. I didn't mean to make you cry or get scared. Your great-aunt Tasha made daddy angry, but buddy, you know that I would never hurt you, okay? Daddy loves you." I felt like I shouldn't be watching the soft-worded exchange between the father and son, but I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Cj nodded and hugged his dad tightly, and you could tell that swimming was long forgotten.

"Alright, well, I am going to leave now. By Cj, Liss, Christian." I spoke in a hushed tone, afraid something loud would ruin the moment. Lissa waved, Cj whispered a "Bye, Auntie Ro." and Christian nodded to me. I said goodbye to Dean and then left the deli in a heavier mood.

**Four Days Later… :D Or is it three? I think it's four, but oh well. I could be wrong. **

**(Rose POV) **

I was rushing around the house, trying to get all of my things before Dimitri arrived.

"Cat! Come 'ere girl!" She pranced her way over to me, sniffing and then licking my face when I crouched down. I normally wouldn't mind her doing that, but she had just finished eating and she still had bits of food here and there.

"You gotta go potty?" she made her way to the back door before I let her out and closed the door, letting her do her business while I continued to ran around.

_Sunset I've waited for you all day_

_I've waited for you all day my love_

_Come quick I'm ready for you always_

_I'm ready for you always my love_

My phone rang and it was an unknown number, and I prayed he wasn't already here…

"Hello?"

"Rose? Hi, uh, it's Dimitri… I'm outside the gate."

"Oh. Alright, I'll let you in and if you want you can wait inside your vehicle or you can come inside. I'll leave the door unlocked if you'd like to come in… but I'm just about ready…" There was a long pause of silence, and right then I completely regretted inviting him in.

"Uh, come inside?"

"Er, yeah. If you want."

"Um, okay then. Sure."

"Cool."

"Yep." This was getting way to awkward for my liking.

"I'll just unlock the gate now."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up, my breathing uneven and shaky. This man did things to me just by talking to me over the phone. Earlier this week wasn't so bad when we spoke, but now? We were going on a date. I hadn't been on a date in who knows how long and because of that, I could screw it up. I just hoped I didn't.

I unlocked the gate with a press of a button, watching through the window as he drove up the long driveway and into the circle. **(Her mansion is on my profile… I had a really hard time finding one that fit the description, and even then it still doesn't… if you want to leave to your imagination, then have at it. :]) **He shut off his truck and got out, wearing blue jeans, a black and white baseball tee, and a black baseball cap. With that, he wore black tennis shoes and a chain glinted off his next when he walked pass the sidewalk lights. **(it's a simple outfit, but I'm going to have it on my profile anyway.)** He was getting closer and closer and I still hadn't unlocked the door!

I ran to the door and unlocked it, expecting him to come on in, but he stood there and knocked. I smiled and opened it, realizing he looked so much better up close. And then I realized something else. We were wearing the same thing. **(Rose's is on there too! :]) **

I too had a black baseball cap on my head, a black and white baseball tee, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. Underneath, I didn't have a chain or necklace, but I wore a black tank top. I wasn't sure if he was wearing one, but it would only add to the oddness of the situation.

"Hello." he greeted, giving me a dazzling smile.

"Hello to you too, twin. I like the outfit." He gave himself a once-over, and then repeated the motion with me. And he did it again. And again.

"Here, why don't you come in while I finish up." He nodded, still quite confused, and walked in.

"Do you like dogs?" I asked.

"Sorry, what was that?" His attention was far away as he observed my house.

"Do you like dogs? Are you bothered by their presence?" He chuckled. The sound was so deep, rich, and melodic to my ears, warming me from head to toe.

"Not at all. I don't really like cats, but I love dogs." I smiled.

"Good, because I have one." I walked away from him, and a few seconds later, I heard his footsteps against the hardwood floor, following me to the kitchen.

"What breed?"

"German Shepherd." **(I know I said Labrador and Great Dane mix, but I didn't really like that anymore. I will be taking chapters down and reposting them that way it won't have so many mistakes! Sorry for the many side notes!) **He nodded.

"Come 'ere, Kitty!" I whistled a tune that she knew meaning of, and it was to "come." She ran up the steps, her ears down and her tail wagging. I rubbed her head and watched as she cautiously sniffed Dimitri, but only for five seconds max before licking his face and hands as he crouched down. He rubbed her head, scratched her neck, and then her favorite spot on her back.

I couldn't help but smile for the millionth time as I watched him talk mushy and soft words to my dog.

"Ah, let me go get my bag and I'll be ready." He nodded again, looking up at me while petting Cat. I smiled and walked out of the kitchen, and once I was out of his sight, I bolted up the stairs, getting my things for tonight. I grabbed my Nike jaw string back pack, my aviators, wallet, and put on my cap. My hair was down, falling in waves mixed with the occasional curl here and there, and I had applied some light makeup, knowing if I put anymore on I would have sweat it off.

I looked at my reflection and decided it was good enough, because I didn't really have any time to fix or add anything else.

I ran back down the stairs, almost landing on my face in the process, but met him by the door anyway.

"Hi." I breathed out.

"Hello again, Roza." he said, chuckling as I almost ran into him. Not that I would've minded.

"Roza?"

"It's your name in Russian." The way his accent hinted at his words lightly and they way he rolled his "r's" was a huge turn on.

"Oh, well, do you wanna hit the road?" He nodded and opened the door for me, waiting for me to go. I gave Cat a kiss on her forehead and gave her a quick pat. "Thank you." I told him as I walked through the front door doorway.

"Mmhm." The door locked immediately after he shut it, but not a second later, his phone started ringing. I didn't recognize the song, but I knew it was from the eighties.

He grinned sheepishly at me and told me it was Olena calling. I motioned for him to answer it, and when he did, he spoke a string of fluent Russian words. He hung up and looked at me, sighing.

"My mother needs me to go and pick up some more watermelon… is that alright with you?" I laughed and nodded, waiting for him to start off toward his truck. He went forward, and I followed behind.

RxD=?

"Why not this one? It's really green." He laughed and shook his head.

"Roza, you have to check the hollowness, ripeness, firmness, its shape, _and _the color. If it's hollow, dark, decently round, and ripe, you've got yourself a keeper, if it's not, you don't take it." I huffed and kept on knocking on the watermelons along with checking the color, shape, and firmness.

After another twenty watermelons, we had picked out eight hollow, dark, ripe, large, and firm watermelons. I was never going watermelon shopping ever again.

Dimitri pushed the fruit-filled cart forward and into a checkout lane, where the blonde-haired cashier was eyeing him up and down like I would with my dessert. Though I really shouldn't be, I was starting to get jealous. If anyone else does that, I'll be a psychopath by the end of the day. When she was finally done, we couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough. We loaded the fruit into his truck and sped away, heading towards his sister's ranch.

RxD=?

Dimitri and I had pretty much split when we made it to the ranch; Olena had needed my help in the kitchen, and some old friends of his wanted to catch up with him. I was wishing Dimitri was here, because in the moment, I felt lonely. People were going on and about, in and out of the kitchen, and I was just standing here, failing with my job to cut the watermelon.

"Roza! What happened?" I jumped at how loud she was.

"You told me to cut it, and well, I… um, well… I tried…" Dimitri walked in that moment, kind of saving me from anymore embarrassment.

"Roza, you're supposed to-" Olena stopped talking when he entered the room, and clapped her hands together. "Dimka, go over there and help her." My mouth popped open, though I could help the smile that came upon my lips.

Everyone else continued to buzz around with what they were doing as he observed my work.

"Did you use a bread knife to cut this?" he asked, looking at the large utensil in my hand.

"This is a bread knife? No wonder it was so hard to cut…" I muttered, tossing the knife on the counter in defeat.

"Here." He grabbed the proper knife and wrapped my hand around it, while moving behind me. I tensed, but it was in excitement. He took my other hand and placed it on the side of the watermelon so it wouldn't move so much when the knife would go through.

"Is this okay?" I nodded, and he slowly pushed my hand down, slicing the melon's surface. We managed to cut the rest of it without it being too disastrous, and he moved out from behind me, picking up a piece of watermelon.

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked, turning to face me.

"This." He balanced it on my nose and smiled when I went cross-eyed. I whipped my tongue out and ate it, grinning afterwards.

"Now it's my turn." I picked up a handful of mush and smothered it onto his head, howling with laughter.

"Hey! That's not very nice, Roza." He grabbed a handful in return, letting it slide out of his hand and onto my hair and face.

"You turd!" I reached for some more fruit, but he ran out the door before I could get him. I followed anyway, the mush feeling weird in my hands.

I spotted him talking to Eddie, and his back was to me. Somehow, I managed to sneak up on him and I smacked it onto his head and rubbed his cheeks, mouth, nose… there wasn't a spot on his head that hadn't been touched by the slosh.

"Roza…" I giggled.

"Yes, Comrade?"

"I thought we were even."

"It's never even until I end it."

"She's right," Eddie piped in. "There's not a day in history where Rose gives up."

Dimitri huffed and spun around and hoisted me over is shoulder. I squealed like a girl, and lightly hit his back.

"Let me down!"

"Nope." Either way, we both knew I'd rather stay here than be put down. "Is your makeup waterproof?"

"Yes…"

"Good." He set me down a few minutes later and something squeaked, but hat _something _was the water-hose knob. The next thing I knew, water was being sprayed at my head.

At least he was considerate enough to make sure to not ruin my makeup.

**(Dimitri POV) **

It was on the "shower" setting, but she jumped back anyway, a beautiful smile gracing her lips.

"It's just a little water," I teased. I sprayed her hair some more, the fruit washing off already.

RxD=?

After two hours of talking to Rose and learning more about her, we had taken a spot on the grass, somewhat near the bonfire.

"When are you returning to Afghanistan?" she asked, running her fingers over the grass.

"In two weeks and three days."

"Are Ivan and Eddie going back with you?"

"No, they're leaving a week earlier." She paused before asking another question.

"How come you're staying for three weeks and not two?"

"I haven't taken any leave time in so long that I had some more days I could use. They're hoping the war blows over soon since we've already gotten rid of more than half of the Taliban, meaning I would be able to come home…"

"Sorry I'm asking so many questions, but why didn't you visit your family before?" I didn't reply right away, wanting to tell her why, but not fully open to the idea of that. Should I tell her? I already feel like I can trust her and from her personality, I can confirm that feeling.

"If it's an uncomfortable subject, you don't have-"

"No. I never visited my family because… because I was afraid."

"Why were you afraid?" she asked, looking at me.

"A long time ago, a man named Aleksander was with my mother. He used her. He raped her. He abused her, in general. He would come home drunk, almost every night, and beat her. Eventually he just left on his own, saying my mother was cheap, trashy, and all too willing. We thought he was out of our lives for sure, my sisters and I, but when Karolina lost her child and didn't return home for a week, my mother went back to Aleksander, claiming she needed a distraction.

"She broke a few ribs and her leg. After she healed, Viktoria was fined for driving under the influence, and back then, we were as good as dead because of Aleksander stealing the money we had, only leaving us enough for her fine and the bills on the house for that month. So, in order to pay all of the bills, we all took up any jobs we could to contribute while my mother resumed studying for her upcoming exams. She was in medical school. So, after she got out of her night classes, she went back to him. Again." Roza's eyes were wide the whole time, shaking her head at some parts, covering her mouth with her hand the other times.

"She was almost beaten to death, and at that point, I was just fed up with him. I was afraid to visit my family because I was afraid my mother had crawled back to him the other two times, but I guess I should've known if she did or not because of the last encounter him and I had."

"What happened when you last spoke?"

"I beat him up." I told her honestly.

"Oh my gosh, how old were you?"

"Thirteen."

"Holy- you're like… a god!" I chuckled at her words but sobered up some more when I continued on.

"It wasn't that hard… I was the same height and I had more muscle than he ever did."

"But still! You were thirteen!" I smiled at her, and I was immediately mesmerized by her beautiful eyes. She tilted her head to the side, studying my face.

"Is that why you don't like birthday celebrations?" I was taken aback by the question, fascinated at how she figured that out so fast. "Because you feel like a disgrace being Aleksander's son? Because he did so many things to hurt your family, you feel like a disgrace to be a child of his?" I nodded and looked away, feeling pathetic for being a coward.

"Hey," She used her hand to pull my face back to face her. "I'm not judging you, or calling you a coward, because I used to feel the same way. There's nothing to really be ashamed of. I can tell you're a far better man than Aleksander ever was, and you were raised by your mother who showed you how to respect, and earn respect, and I can tell you now that you have mine already. There is nothing to be ashamed of because you are no _disgrace_." I hadn't expected that from her, and I was instantly inspired. It hit me like a bag of bricks.

"Now that I am done with my pep-talk," Rose said, smiling softly. "Lets go make some s'mores."

"What's a 's'more?'"

"You don't know what a s'more is? Come on! You are going to have your first ever s'more, and you're going to like it." she exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the two small fire pits where people were roasting marsh mellows. I couldn't help but feel the warm current that flowed through me when she grabbed my hand.

"Okay. You start with splitting a graham cracker in half, like so." She broke it in half.

"Hold this." She gave me the four pieces as she shoved two marsh mellows on a metal stick.

"Now, you wait for the marsh mellows to roast, and once they're gooey enough, that's when you put it on the cracker. You see those mini Hershey bars over there?" she asked, nodding to the table. I nodded.

"You take those and break it, putting it on the graham cracker. Do one mini Hershey bar on two different pieces." I nodded again and walked over, doing as she told me to do, and walked back over.

"Now it's time to place the marsh mellows on the crackers." She took one of the pieces of graham cracker out of my hand and took the marsh mellow, letting it sit on one of the chocolate-covered crackers, setting the other slab on top of the marsh mellow, making sure nothing came apart, and slowly pulled the stick out. She did the same with the other s'more, and then tossed the stick with the others once she finished.

"I may be awful with food, but when it comes to my s'mores, I make them to perfection. Dig in, Comrade!" she told me, smiling. I bit into it after she did, and it was _really, really, REALLY, _sweet.

I offered it to Rose, because there was no way I'd finish it. It was like dumping sugar into your mouth. **(Who else LOVES S'mores? ^o^) **

"You don't like it?" she asked, laughing. I shook my head,

"Way too sweet."

"You're weird."

"No, you are. I swear, it's like Candy Land in my mouth."

"Candy Land in your mouth? Never heard that one before."

"Dimitri!" I turned around, hearing someone call my name. It was Ivan and Eddie, Ivan holding a guitar while Eddie flailed his arm around, a CD in his hand.

"It's Toby Keith time!" Eddie yelled.

"'Toby Keith time?'" Rose asked.

"Yeah, it's this thing we do… we sing Toby Keith songs."

"Fun, can I come watch?"

"Actually, Ivan is going to start playing his guitar while we sing some songs around the bonfire, so everyone else with gather around eventually. But yeah, if you want to come, have at it." She nodded and grabbed my arm this time, my arm tingling.

"I'll just have a spot over here." Rose told me, sitting on the log bench as Ivan, Eddie, and I took a seat on the four-seater log towards the back so we could see everyone.

"Hey, everybody. As you know, we will be playing some Toby Keith! The crowd of about thirty-five people cheered.

"First up, _Red Solo Cup_!" Everyone laughed as Ivan began singing, or… well, more like talking.

**(Rose POV) **

Even though I hated country music, right now, I wouldn't have it anyway else as I watched the three men sing along together, along with the rest of the crowd. Plus, this song was kind of funny. After a few more songs, I finally spotted Lissa and she was… on a horse. Christian held the reins in his hands, walking the horse around as she tried to not fall off.

I zoned back in when the everyone's laughter died down and a softer tune began playing. I recognized it as Toby Keith's _American Soldier._

_I'm just tryin' to be a father, raise a daughter and a sonBe a lover to their mother, everythin' to everyone_

_Up and at 'em bright and early, I'm all business in my suit_

_Yeah I'm dressed up for success, from my head down to my boots_

_I don't do it for money, there's bills that I can't pay_

_I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway_

_Providing for our future's, my responsibility_

_Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be_

_And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekend's been too strong_

_I just work straight through the holidays, and sometimes all night long_

_You can bet that I stand ready, when the wolf growls at the door _

_Hey I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core._

_And I will always do my duty no matter what the price_

_I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice_

_Oh and I don't want to die for you, but if dyin's asked of me_

_I'll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don't come free._

_I'm an American Soldier an American_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters, I will proudly take a stand_

_When liberty's in jeopardy, I will always do what's right_

_I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight_

_American Soldier, I'm and American, Soldier._

_An American Soldier an American_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters, I will proudly take a stand_

_When liberty's in jeopardy, I will always do what's right_

_I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight_

_American Soldier, I'm an American, an American, an American, Soldier._

It was one of the sweetest songs I have ever heard, and a lot of it actually applied to the men.

After another three songs, they were done singing and it was almost time to go.

"That was really fun," I told him. "And you have a really good voice."

"Thank you. And I'm glad you had fun."

"Yep. So, what do you want to do now?"

"Well, the bonfire's almost over, do you want to stay and chat a bit more, or do you want to go ahead and head out?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"Ah, I say we go ahead and head out."

"Alright, I just need to let my family know I'm leaving." I nodded and we began walking toward the house.

RxD=?

After I said my thanks to his family and after he let them know we were leaving, we got in his truck and started off to my house. On the way here, I learned he loved eighties music, along with country music. It was on a rap station, just for me, but I turned the dial to a mixed station that played all kinds of music- ranging from classical to heavy metal. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

I grinned and sat back in my seat, watching the beautiful scenery of the wildlife unfold, moving in clumps of blurs.

It was a silent yet comfortable ride back, relaxed and tension-free. He walked me to my doorstep and I turned to face him.

"Thanks for the ride and everything… I had a lot of fun."

"Thanks for coming. I had a lot of fun too… more fun than I have had in nine years," Hearing that made my heart explode in joy, knowing that I had made him happy. "But would you mind doing something like that… again?" Was he asking me out on a date? Was tonight even a date? He asked me to go with him, so I guess it was…

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I'd be all for it." I smiled when he smiled.

"That's great. When are you free?"

"I have a very flexible schedule, so any date and time is fine with me."

"How about Monday night, at seven o'clock?"

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll see you then, Roza."

"Yeah, you too…" He bent his head, so he was staring straight into my eyes, and I tilted my head back. He placed his hand on the side of my face and the other on the small of my back, pulling me close. My heart thundered at his touch and proximity, currents running all through my body like they had earlier.

"Can I kiss you?" I nodded, "Kiss me." He bent a little lower, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine and I had my arms wrapped around his neck.

* * *

**I FINISHED IT AFTER TEN/ ELEVEN FLIPPING DAYS! YES! … So? That was quite a long chapter… like, over nine-thousand words! The longest chapter I have EVER written! It's very filling and guaranteed you had stopped this half way because you got bored, but sorry, I tried. I am going to update Rosemarie Hathaway, The One and Only tonight and I should have a chapter up, if not, I'll have one up Monday or Tuesday. Thank you guys so much for the support and reviews and adding me to your alerts! I love you all for it! Sorry for any mistakes because last night, I wrote a huge chunk of this until four in the morning. Anyway, I love you guys and thanks so much! Oh, and pic links are on my profile at the bottom- you have to copy and paste... and Rose's ringtone was "Just You" by Amy Stroup. Thanks a billion guys! Oh, again, question: What do you think will happen after the kiss? :O Bye! :D **

**~R. :DD! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey hey hey! I am just amazed at how many reviews I received for the last chapter! TWENTY-FIVE! Any second now the waterworks' control box is going to have some technical difficulties. I'm crying right now. I am just so happy! You guys are just so amazing that I couldn't hold it in and I had to write another chapter, that way the story will move on quicker… you all don't know how many scenes I want to write, but I can't do that until the story moves on. It's beneficial to both you and me. (: I am going to try to shorten this A/N since I know the last one was far over one thousand words. Crazy. I tried to make this update as quick as I could, but curse writer's block! I seem to have it whenever I wanna write! So, hopefully, this chap will turn out alright. On with the thanks to the lovely and amazing reviewers: **

**Thank you tooooo- **

_piano-lover22, littlebadgirl2904, ItaSaku1, guest, lalapoo, LuPeters, debby, Nellyrose1994, RozaDimka, Leokat24, Do'B, lalaloo, Dana, iShini, RozaRoseBelikov, Roses-double _and_ Heather Hall. _

I know a few of you reviewed way more than once, but reading them still made my day! (:

**Piano-lover22: **

I know, I know, I try to keep them short but they always turn out long. This authors note will mainly just be me talking/responding to your alls reviews. I am not ever going to skip out on thanks to you and the rest of the reviewers. Never ever, even if it's five thousand words+. I just really appreciate you all reviewing, and plus, in the last A/N I had a lot things to say since I hadn't updated in well over a month. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and this should count as soon… compared to my other updates. (:

**lbg2904- **

Yeah buddy they kissed! (: Here is a relatively quick ud compared to my other ones… I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for reviewing!

**ItaSaku1- **

Really? I thought the first was better… and yeah, I do see green, but most of the time I see blue… but it could very much just be the way it was copied. And omg Mason's eyes? I almost had a heart attack because they were so… red/ orange looking! Yeah, Adrian's eyes are supposed to be an emerald green compared to Lissa's jade ones. (: I'm glad you thought the kiss was adorable and I am glad you just enjoyed the chapter in general! Thanks for reviewing!

**LuPeters- **

Lol, I am ecstatic you love it and well, this is ASAP for me. This chapter isn't going to be nearly as long though. Thanks for reviewing! [:

**Nellyrose1994- **

Lol, believe it or not, thirteen years isn't that crazy-long. Maybe to you, but I don't really think so… My dad served for twenty-one years before retiring… many men or women quit early, but there are also a lot who serve for a while, but many of those people are higher ranks, like my dad. I don't remember what rank he was, but he definitely wasn't a specialist. [: I'll try not to disappoint in the future, seeing as how you and some others love it. I am also glad I can "hella write!" Thank you for the many reviews you left me!

**RozaDimka- **

Barely got that chapter out, but I am happy you thought it was amazing. Thank you for your review (:

**Leokat24- **

I am happy to say you were the closest to figuring out the answer about what they are going to do after their little smooch. Thank you for reviewing and I am glad you enjoyed it!

**Do'B- **

I never know how to respond to your reviews… I like that little thing you said: "… you gave us something to sink our teeth into…" Was that supposed to be a little reference to the VA since they're vampires? :D Lol, anyway, you'll see later on what the little riddle type thing means. I had trouble thinking of one, and then that one popped up, so I wouldn't be surprised if no one was able to figure it out… because it's weird and not something that would be commonly guessed. As for Tasha, I can assure you that she has actually changed. No surprises from her, and the only reason C&L aren't disowning her is because they believe she will change. And she will keep to her word. Heck yeah, Dimitri will always be a gentleman… maybe. ^-^ He is a man of worth and honor. Thank you for your lovely review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Lalaloo& Dana- **

Glad you liked/loved it… here's your update!

**iShini- **

Melissa's an amazing author, right? I love her story! Thank you… I've never thought my writing was ever that… good. However, my sister and I are thinking about writing a book together, using many of my ideas while we both write using her knowledge and experience. I hope we do, and if we do, I'll let you know about it. (: I will probably cry when I write the scene when D has to go back… which will sadly be soon. Not for the next few chapters, but it'll happen in the near-ish future. Idk, will he get hurt? :o You'll just have to wait and see! I'm glad you're a fan of this and here's the chap! [:

**RozaRoseBelikov- **

I know! They're so flippin long yet I always fail epic-ly to shorten them! Sorry, and no, you all are not nerds. Here's the chap! Thank yers for reviewing, Airam. Also, sorry about not saying hi to you yesterday. I couldn't hear you… ;]

**Roses-double: **

Thank you for all of your reviews! The song is sweet… sorry you had to cry though. I think this is relatively-soon since my other updates are so jacked up and far apart. I don't think any other chapter will be able to top the last one but here it is anyway! Thanks for your review!

**Heather Hall- **

Don't worry, I won't stop writing for you all. This story will most definitely continue on and I am really happy you love my story! (: Thanks for reviewing!

**Ms. Sweden-**

I know, after I reread the chapter on FF, I noticed how bad all of the parentheses looked. And how confusing it was. (: But after I finish writing the story, I will be editing all of the chapters. Thank you for being honest! This chapter sucks, but I wrote it anyway, but I do enjoy the ending a lil bit.

**Phew, I am going to rush out what I need to say before I continue on with the disclaimers: Alright. I have no clue how long this'll be since I don't even know what I am going to write, but I will try to make is as long as I can without making it too crappy for you all. Also, thank you to all of you readers who've added me to your alerts and favorites. It makes me happy to see it. (:**

**I have my 2 Liter bottle of diet Mtn Dew even if it doesn't have any caffeine, it should remind me to go to the bathroom every thirty minutes and splash some cold water on my face to keep me awake. **

**It's only eleven at night, but I tend to fall asleep early and I am already exhausted from today's events, so, cut me some slack for this chapter. It'll be sucky and maybe short and crapily written, but y'know, in the end, it'll be okay. (: I love you all and I hope this chapter doesn't suck! Sorry for the really long A/N and the next one shouldn't be so freaking long. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD. ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER.**

**PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR THIS STORYLINE/PLOT BELONGS TO THE ACCOUNT OWNER OF Dimkaisshmexy (R.) and NO ONE else!**

* * *

Previously in I'm Now Content in My Little World:

_"Alright, I'll see you then, Roza."_

_"Yeah, you too…" He bent his head, so he was staring straight into my eyes, and I tilted my head back. He placed his hand on the side of my face and the other on the small of my back, pulling me close. My heart thundered at his touch and proximity, currents running all through my body like they had earlier._

_"Can I kiss you?" I nodded, "Kiss me." He bent a little lower, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine and I had my arms wrapped around his neck._

* * *

**Chapter Six- Fallin' For You by Colbie Caillat **

**(Rose POV) **

We moved apart at the same time, taking our time. His lips were everything I hoped for them to be… they were soft, warm, and full. He tasted like something minty yet at the same time sweet and I was already wanting more.

It was a little past one in the morning, and I felt completely awake, not even the slightest bit tired. His beautiful brown eyes bored into mine like before and I just wanted to hug him. Envelop him in a warm hug, never letting go.

So I did. For a second or two he didn't respond, still stuck in a trance, but he hugged me back, squeezing me just as tightly as I was him with his head resting in the crook of my neck.

His aftershave was amazing, the scent filling up my nostrils as I breathed in heavily.

"Thank you." I mumbled into his shirt.

"You said that already." he told me, his breath hot on my neck.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to say it again…" I trailed off as I pulled away slowly.

"You're right. It doesn't. I should probably get going." I nodded and smiled.

"Okay. I'll see you Monday night?"

"Yes. Wear something…"

"Wear something… I planned on doing that. I don't think it's legal to go anywhere nude in the state of Montana." He shook his head and chuckled, the sound, like it did always, warmed me from head to toe.

"I was going to say wear something nice. I plan on taking you out."

"Alright."

"I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah. Drive safely, please."

"I will." He smiled and turned, walking to his truck. He got to the passenger's side and called out, "Goodnight, Roza."

"Goodnight, Dimitri." He smiled and continued on until he got into the driver's side, waving before he started driving down the pavement. I quickly went inside so I could reopen the gate that had already closed. I pressed the button as he drove out of the gate, smiling at the camera before taking a left turn and finally leaving.

I went inside in a giddy mood, prancing around and dancing. As I made my way upstairs, I began to get tired, the exhaustion catching up with me. Cat came into my room and went to her doggy bed as I changed and got ready for bed, a smiled stamped on my face as I went to sleep.

* * *

**(The next morning.)**

* * *

I woke up, still on a dazed high as I got ready for today. I didn't have anything to do, so after I cleaned myself up, I sat down on the couch, turned the TV on, and started sketching. I was out of ideas for the punk company, _Skulls n' Thorns_. Zombies, vampires, werewolves, skulls, thorns, biohazard symbols, ripped jeans, skinny jeans… I couldn't think of anything else. But then Dimitri popped into my mind… well, what he wore rather.

He wore camouflaged clothing items, but instead of it being the old camo, it was that new digital-looking type. I decided that I was going to bring the old camo back.

* * *

Hours later, I had drawn the last piece of clothing onto the girl outfits. It wasn't necessarily an outfit, but just a bunch of clothing pieces that you could put together to make an outfit.

I had combat boots, dog tags **(She does accessories too… :])**,camo tank tops, camo skinny and regular jeans, camo cargo pants, camo wristbands, camo bandannas, camo tops, camo undergarments, camo socks, anything and you name it. I had done the exact same for the boys', just in a different form. I was ecstatic to finally come up with something that hadn't been used in a long while, and I couldn't wait to share it with Dimitri.

Right after I put my sketchpad down with a triumphant grin, my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered, padding into the kitchen in search for some eggs to cook.

"_Rose? It's Viktoria_."

"Oh, hey, Vik. Something you need?" Viktoria and I spoke on a pretty much day-to-day basis, but we hardly ever spoke on a Sunday since she was normally so busy.

"_Kind of… Karolina needs Zoya to be watched, and Dimka's out, Sonya is too, Mama's out of town to perform an urgent surgery, and I have to go to a friend's to help her get her wedding dress tailored. Since all of us aren't going to be home, and she still doesn't trust Paul enough to watch Zoya, she was wondering if you could do it_."

"Oh. Yeah, sure. I'm free… But I don't know how to get to Karolina's house."

"_Don't worry, you'd come to our house. She's dropping Paul and Zoya off here_."

"How soon do you need me?"

"_Um, as soon as possible?_" I laughed and nodded, forgetting she couldn't see me.

"Cool. Let me get dressed and I'll head over."

"_Thank you so much, Roza!_"

"It's not a problem."

"_Alright. Thank you!_" I chuckled.

"It's cool, Vik. I'll be there in ten."

"_Thanks!_" I then hung up and ran up the stairs, not actually having to do much since I had already taken my shower.

I changed out of my sweats into skinny jeans, out of my baggy t-shirt into a black, short sleeved, v-neck, and out of my slippers into some black combat boots. After applying some light make up and a little bit of my favorite lip gloss, I was ready to go.

Since Cj wasn't with me, that meant I didn't have to drive the Civic, meaning I got to drive my baby **(Black Dodge Challenger 2012- pic on profile if you don't know what one looks like.)**. I hopped into my Challenger and sped away to the Belikov's.

* * *

I made it with two minutes to spare, and jogged up to their steps. I rang the doorbell and put my keys in my bag as I waited for the door to open.

"Hey!" Viktoria looked like she was out of breath as she leaned on the door for support.

"Problem?"

"No, well, it's just that Paul won't give me my keys and I have to go, like, now." she grumbled, rubbing her face.

"I'll get them back." I walked in and dropped my bag near the door as I went around looking for him.

"He's in the kitchen." she told me. I went inside and saw him standing on the counter, grapes in one hand, keys in the other.

"Hello, Paul." He nodded,

"Roza."

"Give me the keys."

"Sorry, but that is a no-no."

"And why is that?" He didn't reply. He just stood there, eating grapes as if I never spoke to him.

"Paul, lets do this nice and easy. I won't tackle you if you give me the keys, but if you don't, then I have no other choice than to tackle you, because I'm not chasing you around." There was no sound except for the crunching of the grapes as he ate them. I rolled my eyes.

"Stubborn child." I swung my left arm out and hit the back of his calves, causing his legs to shoot out and fall onto his butt on the counter.

He was still taller than me and he raised his arm to where I couldn't reach. I pulled on his shirt and dragged him to the ground and pinned him down, squishing his face against the tile.

"Gimme the keys!"

"NO!" I took his arm and started bending it backwards. It would slowly start to hurt, and I could easily break it this way, but I wouldn't do that. I liked the kid too much to actually do any permanent damage.

"Okayokayokay! Take them!" I laughed in victory as I grabbed the keys and his grapes, popping them into my mouth.

"Hey, I said the keys, not the grapes too!"

"Not my fault." I left him there, lying down on the ground as Viktoria stood laughing in the doorway.

"Thank you, again, Roza. I have to go but I'll be back around six." I nodded and checked my watch. It was a quarter after eleven, meaning I'd have to baby-sit for six, almost seven hours.

"Okay. Bye and have fun!"

"Thanks! Bye!" She rushed out the door and left me there, eating Paul's grapes, so I shut the door and turned around and almost had a heart attack.

"Yeva! Hello… I didn't hear you." I stared at the old woman in surprise as she laughed and walked away, heading back up the stairs at her pretty fast pace… for an old person… with a newspaper in hand. I shook my head and walked away, looking around for Paul. He was still in the kitchen where I left him, rummaging around in the fridge.

"You're fourteen right?" I asked. He nearly jumped five feet in the air and hit his head on one of the open drawers.

"Ow! Yes, I am fourteen, how old are you? Sixty?" I snorted and hopped up onto the counter, swinging my legs.

"No, I'm half of that, thank you very much."

"Zoya's out back." I glanced out the window that let me see the back yard and saw Zoya swinging on a play set that I had never seen before.

"I see that."

"Aren't you supposed to go out there and y'know, watch her? You're here to baby-sit her, not me."

"I am watching her, Mr. Know-it-all. Who peed in your cereal this morning?"

"You did whenever you took my grapes."

"Oh cry me a river."

He turned on the tap and began washing his hands. But being the boy he is, he took some water and flicked it on me.

"Is this water wet?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, it's dry." I replied, trying not to laugh.

"Whatever." He began making himself a sandwich.

"How come your mom doesn't trust you to baby-sit Zoya?" I asked, looking out the window and watching as she slid down the yellow slide. He shrugged.

"I don't know, I think it's just because she's on her period… because I've babysat Zoya plenty of times." I started laughing but stopped when a frantic little Zoya barged in.

I hopped off the counter, instantly alert as I questioned her. "What's wrong Zoya? Did you hurt yourself?" She shook her head rapidly as she pointed to the outside.

"What is it?" I crouched to her level.

"Someone's out in the back yard… I saw them climbing over the fence so I ran here." Her Russian accent came thick as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Paul, take your sister and go up to Yeva's room and lock yourself in there. Don't come out unless I tell you to, alright?"

"Roza, you can't-"

"Paul."

"But what if-"

"No 'buts.' You do as I say. Now go." I went to the closet that held their toys and what not… well, Zoya's toys mostly, but some of Paul's toys were in there too, like his large metal bat. I grabbed it and hid around the corner, silent as I heard the door open. Footsteps sounded on the floor, and I heard them get closer and closer. Once they sounded like they were only a few steps away, I popped out from my hiding spot.

"Ahh!" the person yelled.

"Ahh!" The bat was raised, ready to hit somebody into next Tuesday, but I stopped myself.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I thought you were breaking in!"

"No, I forgot my key and I knew Yeva wouldn't unlock the door for me just so I could learn a lesson, so I hopped the fence. Will you put that bat down?" I let my arm drop to my side and rubbed the back of my neck, feeling bad.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I should've just rang the doorbell, seeing as how your car was in the driveway."

"Sorry, it's just you scared Zoya, and Paul was-"

"There's no need to be sorry. Actually, I'm sorry for scaring you and the kids."

"Pshh, you didn't scare me…" Alright, so I was a little worried that someone was really trying to break in, but I wasn't terrified. He laughed and shook his head.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked, shrugging off his- duster… I believed it was called… before hanging it on the brown, wooden, coat hanger.

"Babysitting for Karolina. Why are you here?"

"Because I reside here…" I smiled and began heading upstairs to let the kids know everything was all right. He also went upstairs, but only to go up the extra set of steps to some other room.

I knocked on Yeva's door, knowing the kids were inside.

"Paul? Everything's okay, it was just Dimitri. He forgot his key so he hopped the fence."

Paul hesitantly opened the door, but relaxed when he just saw that it was me. Zoya stood behind her older brother, her brown eyes still as wide as they could go.

"Roza, come here. Paul, Zoya- out." I walked inside the room after the two exited and held my hand on the door knob, silently asking her if she wanted me to close it or not.

"Close it." I shut the door, standing in the middle of her large room.

"Roza, do you have any interests in my grandson?" I was taken aback by the question, but answered anyway.

"Er, I- well, yes." She sighed and looked me in the eyes.

"Percy Bysshe Shelley said before that 'Soul meets soul on lovers' lips.'" I nodded, as I had learned that quote a long time ago. "Also, someone else once said, 'We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.' The first is true, I see it before my eyes. The second is too. When someone gives you their heart, if you do not accept it, then you turn away. If someone offers you their heart, you accept it, and fight as hard as your other half to beat against all evil that comes forth, because as Aristotle stated, 'Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.'

"Two mend together to defeat the impossible, but you both have to work together, in order to overcome the darkness. It takes two, and if one fights while the other does not, it will come down, bringing the weight of death and pure evil. The evil that destroys. Flowers are unable to bloom if there is no sunlight. They are unable to bloom if there is no water. Love cannot grow if one person does not try hard enough. Love cannot grow if you do not believe." I didn't know what to say.

"I don't underst-"

"Shh, my child. 'I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of falling. I'm not scared of the dark, I'm scared of what's in it. I'm not afraid to love, I'm afraid of not being loved back.' Ponder it, my dear. Now go, and pursue your destiny, for what it brings shall be happiness if all goes according to plan." She made a motion with her hand, obviously telling me to leave. I did as she told me to, shutting the door softly before walking downstairs.

That old woman was incredibly freaky, but some of the things she said I knew were true. I wasn't afraid to love… just afraid of not being loved back.

* * *

After Dimitri had come back down from his room, Paul and Zoya had gone out back, leaving the two of us standing in the living room awkwardly.

"Ah, would you like to go out back?" He slowly nodded, opening the door for me.

"Thank you." He smiled, shutting the door softly behind him. I sat down on a patio chair, watching as Paul helped Zoya go across the mini monkey bars.

Dimitri did the same, but instead he looked down at his hands. As I glanced at the two kids again, I noticed there was a trampoline. Not only was it new, it was huge.

"How come I didn't see all of this," I waved my hand at the large play set, sand box, and trampoline. "The other night at your birthday party?"

"All of it went into the garage."

"Who moved it?"

"Ivan, Eddie, and me."

"Seriously? That stuff's gotta weight, like, a ton!" I jumped from my seat, throwing my hands up. He chuckled at my exaggeration and shook his head.

"Do you want to go jump?" I asked, my face trying to hide a smile as he arched an eyebrow.

"Do I want to go and jump?" he asked.

"Yes, y'know, get on the bouncy stuff and jump up and down until you can't breathe anymore." He laughed again and stood up.

I ran off the porch and unzipped the net, diving in two seconds later. I saw Paul and Zoya look over, shaking their heads and laughing. Dimitri finally made it to the trampoline and slipped his tennis shoes off like I did with my boots and hoisted himself up onto the bouncy black material.

"I can't believe I am doing this…" he trailed off, his lips quirked up into a small smile.

"I can! You have to be spontaneous every once and a while, Dimitri. You have to loosen up and just learn to have fun!" I yelled, jumping and then doing a sloppy flip, landing on my back. I looked up at his tall form and smiled, getting right back up. As I ran around jumping and being an idiot, he just stood there, laughing.

"Come on, Dimitri! Jump!"

"I can't." he said, shaking his head, still laughing. I sighed and plopped down, a little out of breath, and stared up at the sky that was filled with fluffy looking clouds. Dimitri sat down next to me, staring up at the sky too. If it weren't for his amazingly hot muscles, I'd say he was just being lazy.

"It's nice isn't it?" He breathed in deeply and let out a sigh, nodding.

"Yeah, it is. I've missed it." My heart dropped, knowing he was probably comparing the weather of Afghanistan and here. I didn't want him to go… I don't think he wanted to go back either, but just by knowing him now, I knew he would.

"What's it like? The air in Afghanistan?"

"It never feels clean… always humid, sandy, and dirty. It never feels fresh to me."

He rolled to his side, facing me. I did the same, studying him as he studied me. He rolled back too soon though, and covered his face with his hands.

"Roza," he started. "I know I haven't even known you for a week, but-" he stopped speaking and turned to face me again. His expression was one that carried hope and nervousness, and a slight trace of fear.

"But…" I continued.

"But will you be my girlfriend?" My eyebrows rose in shock, but once I recovered, a smile came across my face. I was ecstatic that the feeling was mutual, and that he already wanted me to be his girlfriend. "I'd love to." He breathed a sigh of relief and face planted into the trampoline.

"What are you doing?" I asked, laughing lightly.

"I don't know…" he mumbled. "I like your combat boots, by the way."

"Thank you. I like yours too."

"You haven't seen them."

"I saw them in pictures."

"Those were my old combat boots."

"They are still yours."

"You have a point."

"Of course I do. Anyway… why don't you guys where the old camouflage anymore?"

He sat up and looked at Paul who was sitting on the bench built inside the play set, texting on his phone.

"Because of the night vision goggles. Since they see they help you see in the dark, the goggles would catch the black spots on the uniforms. It'd make us easier targets." I nodded, understanding.

"Well then. Remember how I told you that I am a clothing designer?"

"Yes."

"I was running out of ideas for that punk company, but you popped into my mind, and I decided to bring back the camo."

"Really?"

"Yup. Bracelets, boots, tanks, regular tees, skinny jeans, regular jeans, cargos, bandannas, necklaces, etcetera."

"Interesting… what's the collection called?" "Ah… funny you should mention that… It's called "_Bring My Soldier Home- Your Ultimate D.B. Collection_."

"'_Bring My Soldier Home- Your Ultimate D.B. Collection_'. What does that mean, exactly?"

"'_Bring My Soldier Home' _is basically saying, 'Have pride in our soldiers and praise them by wearing this.'" He nodded.

"'_Your Ultimate D.B. Collection_'means it's your ultimate Dimitri Belikov collection. They don't know that though because it will only say '_D.B._' … I know that can jeopardize your career in the military…"

He finally turned to me, his eyes widening in shock. He didn't say anything, which made me fear that he hated the title.

"Look, I'm sorry… if you don't like it, I'll change it right away." He just shook his head and laughed.

"It's fine, Roza. It's more than fine."

* * *

**MONDAY Y'ALL! ! ! Rose is getting ready for their date… :]**

* * *

I had just gotten out of the shower, and as I walked into my room, I couldn't help the grin that took over my face. Laid out on my bed was my outfit for tonight, which consisted of a floor length, one shoulder, Roberto Cavalli , silk, nude dress, silver leather sandals, drop earrings, and of course, my silver clutch.

**(I am absolutely awful with details and what not… so don't go all ape on me… please? [: Outfit link is on my profile!)**

The dress had silver bead detailing going across the top, around three to six inches above the bust, along with detailing along the side of the dress. It was tighter around the bust, causing my breasts to look a bit smaller, but still large nonetheless, and it began loosening up a little past my waistline. The silk felt nice as it rested against my skin.

My hair was put up into a slightly formal updo and I had applied nude makeup, but with a different colored lip gloss. Surprisingly, I was ready before seven, so I went down stairs and sat on the couch, waiting for him to get here. Cat came into the living room and walked up to me, sniffing.

"Hey pretty girl, guess what? I'm going on a date tonight. He's hot." She continued to sniff here and there. I sighed, and not even two seconds later, my phone started buzzing. I jumped in excitement as I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"_Rose? It's Lissa. Open up the gate._"

"What? Lissa, I'm going on a date, and he's going to be here soon!"

"_WHAT? You're going on a date and you never told me? Ugh. Rose, just open the gate and I'll leave as soon as he gets here. But until then, we're going to talk._"

"Fine. Come on in." I said as I pressed the button to let her in.

I saw her Verna drive up the long driveway and stop in the loop as she ran out and up to the door.

I opened it, seeing her wide eyes.

"Rose, you look gorgeous!"

"Thank you." I let her walk through and shut the door behind her.

"No, Rose, I don't think you get it." She tugged on my arm, dragging me to the full-length mirror in the living room. "You're practically glowing." I looked back at the reflection, kind of agreeing with her. The person in the mirror stood straight and tall, their cheeks had more color, a small smile played upon their lips, and their eyes shone with happiness and strength. This was a slightly newer version of me, and I loved it.

"Who's the lucky man?" she asked quietly, still staring at the reflection.

"Dimitri."

"The Russian hottie?" I nodded my head, my small smile growing.

"He's lucky to be going on a date with someone as beautiful as you. I swear, if he hurts you in any way, his pride will be long gone." I shook my head at her threat and sighed happily. I gave myself a once-over and turned, double checking everything. I made sure Cat had used the bathroom and had enough water, I made sure anything that could possibly light on fire was unplugged, and I made sure I had everything for tonight.

"So, why did you stop by?" I asked Lissa who was giving Cat a belly-rub.

"I was wanting to know if you wanted me to set you up on a blind date, because Tatiana's great nephew's in town, and he's single." I crinkled my nose at the mention of Tatiana but shook my head.

"No can do. I'm taken."

"But you're just going on a date with Dimitri. It's not like you two are actually dating."

"Correction, he's my boyfriend, and I'm his girlfriend."

"_What? _How can you not tell me this stuff? Jeez, I told you everything about Christian."

"And some things were meant to be kept to yourself." She rolled her eyes.

"So, did he like… ask you?"

"Yeah. It was really sweet because he was so nervous."

"What were his _exact_ words?"

"Well, as I said, he was nervous, so I had to help him out a bit, but he started off with,

'Roza, I know I haven't even known you for a week, but-' and he stopped, so that's where I came in with a 'But…' and then he goes, 'But will you be my girlfriend?'" A huge smile took over her face.

"And you told him…?"

"I told him that I'd love to." She squealed, hugging me.

"It's about time! You're not single anymore!" I laughed and smacked her arm lightly. My phone started buzzing again.

"Hello?" I laughed, not bothering to check caller ID.

"_Rose? I'm at the gate._"

"Oh! I'll let you in." Lissa gave me a look and cracked another grin.

"_Thank you._"

"Mmhm," we both hung up and I told Lissa to go let him in since I didn't want to see what he looked like just yet. I wanted to see him in person and up close.

After she opened the gate, she ran back to me.

"Have you two kissed yet?"

I nodded.

"When?"

"Well, twice. Once when he dropped me off at the bonfire, and yesterday before I left his house." I smiled as I recalled the memory.

* * *

"_Well, I honestly wasn't expecting to see you until tomorrow, but I'm glad I did. I had fun." he told me, leaning against the front door's door frame. _

"_Me too. I should probably head out…" He slowly nodded, but I didn't move. _

_In that moment, wanted to feel his lips on mine again. I wanted to feel the rush of heat flowing through my body. I wanted feel the same way he made me feel when we first kissed. _

_I took a deep breath and interlaced my fingers behind his neck, staring up into his eyes. His hands immediately went to my hips, bringing me closer to where our bodies were flush against each other's. Leaning in at the same time, our lips touched. It was just a brush, but it was enough to set my nerves into a frenzy, and apparently his too. The kiss heated up but it ended short as we both pulled away at the same time for some air. _

"_I guess I'll see you later." _

"_Yeah." I gave him a quick peck and left, my heart hammering in my chest as I got into my car with glee._

* * *

"Why were you at his house?"

"Babysitting for Karolina."

"Is he a good kisser?" I nodded eagerly as I walked to the door and opened it just in time as he raised his hand to ring the doorbell.

"Roza," he breathed out, his eyes looking me up and down. "You look absolutely stunning."

My mouth hung open as I started at him. He was wearing a simple outfit, yet he pulled it off so well. **(Outfit on profile.) **His hair seemed to have grown longer in the short time he was here, yet it was still in that buzz cut form. His hair was lovely already, and I wondered what it'd be like if he grew it out. I'd love to run my fingers through-

Lissa's words cut off my thoughts.

"You two have fun now. I'll just leave and let you two get going."

"Bye Liss." I told her as we gave each other a brief hug.

"Goodbye, Lissa." Dimitri said, his eyes landing on my face.

"Goodbye!" She went out the door and into her car, buckling up and speeding away. I opened the gate for her to leave and then turned back to him.

His shirt wasn't buttoned up all the way and I was able to see some of his sexy chest.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes." His hand was behind his back until he moved it, revealing a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I recognized the roses easily, but the roses were mixed with many other types of flowers.

"For you, Roza." He held them out to me and I inhaled the floral scent.

"Mmm. How many types of flowers are in this?" I asked, backing inside and pulling him in so I could put them in a vase. There were only a few I recognized, and the bouquet

"Seventeen if you're technical, but only thirteen if you aren't. There's a list of the types attached to the wrapping. Is it too… spunky?"

"Spunky? It's an interesting combination, but I love it." I told him, smiling as I filled a clear vase with water. I placed the flowers inside, looking at the wrapping to see a small card packed with names.

_Blue Periwinkle_

_Primrose_

_Blue Salvia_

_Rose- pink, white, and red_

_Tulip_

_Marjoram_

_Oleander _

_Iris_

_Hibiscus _

_Gardenia_

_Chrysanthemum- red, white, and yellow_

_Carnation _

_Camellia_

I put the card down and looked at Dimitri, my about to split my face into two.

"I can't believe you mixed so many flowers together, yet, it looks so good." He raised a brow. "I'm not saying you have no creativity, I'm just saying it's impressive. Anyway, where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Figures. Where exactly?"

"My lips are sealed." I huffed.

"Let's go then." He nodded and waited for me to punch in the security code to unlock the alarm system until I reactivated it.

"Is there any other reason besides the obvious as to why your house is so heavily secured?"

"The security's not that bad… but someone broke in the other day so my dad had someone install this high-tech security system. I don't really even think it works that well, but he claims it's one of the best." We walked outside into the slightly humid summer air and got into his truck, heading to who knows where.

* * *

We arrived at some place I didn't know the name of, but it was pretty fancy. Lights hung from the ceiling, giving it a nice glow. It was dark out now, so they had dimmed the lights, compared to it before.

I had never been here, but just by the setting you knew it originally had bright lights to accent the place. A large mirror covered most of the wall on one side, and the opposite wall of it was the same. The walls were a light color, settling well with the white and gold drapes that hung from the large windows, and also with the white table cloths, gold/bronze chairs, and the mixed ceiling. The floor was covered by beige/tan tiles. A person sat on the white piano bench that matched the white piano, playing a soft tune as their fingers glided across the keys. We walked towards the host who was staring down at the computer in front of her.

"Hello, my name is Jillian and I'll be your hostess today. Reservation name?"

"Dimitri Belikov." Her head snapped up.

"Dimitri?"

"Hello, Mastrano." She shook her head and gave a lopsided grin. I had nothing to be jealous of, seeing as how they were just old friends. Hopefully.

"I haven't seen you in ages. Last time I saw you, you were half your age. You're what, thirty-one? Thirty-two?"

"Thirty-two. You're what, twenty-two?"

"Yeah. Anyway, this chitchat can wait, seeing as how you have a lovely lady on your arm. Let's see…" she murmured the last part to herself. "A table for two… right this way." We followed her to one of the tables near the corner, sitting down as she laid our menus out in front of us, removing the little paper fold that read, "_Reserved._"

"Your waiter will be with you shortly." Dimitri nodded.

"Do you drink wine?" I nodded.

"Do you have any preferences?" I shook my head.

"Nothing? Red, white-"

"Red's cool." He nodded and we waited silently. It was a comfortable silence as we waited for our waiter or waitress.

"Hello, my name is Ian and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with any of our wines from the new _Divine _selection?"

"No, thank you, but we'd like either the merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or the pinot noir."

"We are currently out of the last two, but we do have the merlot."

"That will do."

"And are you ready for me to take your orders?"

"Could we have just another minute?"

"Absolutely. I'll be right back with your wine." I picked the filet mignon and Dimitri did the same.

Ian came back soon with the wine and after we ordered, it took no less than ten minutes for the food to arrive.

"So, what do you like to do in your free time?" I asked as I took my time cutting the meat.

"I enjoy reading, you?"

"Eating." He chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. There wasn't much to talk about since I found out a lot the night of the bonfire. One thing I didn't know much of was how he felt about Afghanistan.

"Dimitri…" I started, moving my meat around with my fork. "Does it bother you when you talk about Afghanistan?"

"Are you asking if I am uncomfortable with that topic?" I nodded. "No. Why?"

"I was just wondering what it's like." His eyes grew distant as he picked at his food, not really eating it anymore. I felt bad for ruining his meal and began to wish I hadn't brought it up at all.

"What do you want to know? Good? Bad? Both?"

"I don't mind either of them. Tell me how you feel about it."

"It's not fun when you have to run out and shoot people like crazy, knowing that over time they could have changed their minds. I feel like every time I end up shooting someone or taking their life, I feel like they were the innocent person and not the killer. Some people join the military to just shoot people for the fun of it, being sick and twisted, and it's weird to have to see that all the time. Soldiers taking pleasure from someone else's pain. A lot of soldiers are stupid and idiotic and don't have a clue what they're doing. Have you ever met someone who just designed clothes for the wealth and not to actually make other people happy?" His eyes met mine in that moment, his brown orbs soft but hard at the same time.

"Yeah, a few people."

"That's how it feels with the new recruits. They come in, acting like a know-it-all, and then are put in their place, only to mess it up when they return home. They think they're such warriors because they walk around carrying a rifle, guarding. They're eager to be there, saying they're protecting everyone else from the bad, though they have yet to actually experience what it's like to kill an average of five people each day. That's was upsets me about being in Afghanistan- people being stupid." I nodded, gathering all of this information.

"What makes you happy?" I asked.

"I suppose the friends I have there. They've got my back in many situations, and it's the one thing that makes me feel close to home.""How?"

"They treat me like family, which reminds me of my own." I tilted my head to the side, studying him, not like before. This time I noticed a few scars, one near his ear as it dragged down, halfway down his jaw, not meeting his chin. Another was on the side of his hand, and I had noticed it whenever he picked his glass up. I spotted a few tiny ones here and there, but another one caught my attention. It looked like it had been a deeper cut, starting from in the middle of his collarbone and disappeared into his shirt.

We didn't speak much more and ate our food, which was very delicious, along with the merlot wine.

"How tall is Paul?" I asked him after we ordered dessert.

"Nearing six feet, why?"

"Good lord… you two look just alike. If he wasn't your nephew, you two could be brothers." He gave me a small smile.

"People often think that."

"It's hard not to. I get that you and your sisters look alike, but I don't get how she and someone else made a child that is a clone of you."

"Genetics are weird."

"I agree-"

"Rose!" I froze as my eye widened and my shoulders tensed. It took all I had not to smash my head against the table right then and there. As I turned my head, there stood the one and only Ibrahim Mazur.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"Decent."

"How's the security working?"

"Fine, Abe." He heard the slight annoyance laced in between my words as he looked at Dimitri and me.

"You're on a date?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, I supposed I will see you later, kizim. It was nice to see you again, Belikov."

"до встречи, Zmey." Dimitri said. I had no idea what the first part was, but I knew "Zmey" was the Russian term of serpent. I also knew my dad was probably in the mafia or something, but even Dimitri called him "Zmey" and it made me wonder why.

"You know him?" I asked, to either or both men.

"Yes, Dimitri and I met a long while ago in Russia. How old were you? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Thirteen."

"My, my. You have grown a great deal. Give my best to the rest of your family, will you?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, kiz, Dimitri, I must go. Goodbye." Dimitri gave a nod as I said a quiet "bye." After he was out of earshot and out the door, I spoke to Dimitri. Or, well, more like hysterically talk-shouted at him.

"HOLY- you know my dad! My dad! Why? I'm crazy enough as it is, but once you get to know him, he's freaking insane incarnate!"

"I'm not going to disagree with you on that, but I met him a while back. When Alek-Aleksander… when he-"

"I understand." I told him, cutting him off, knowing how uncomfortable he got when talking about that subject.

"Do you enjoy plays?" he asked. I grimaced. "Not necessarily.""I didn't think so. Do you like watching movies?"

"Yes."

"Would you like to go see one after dinner?"

"Actually, I say we Red Box it and get back to my house."

"Call me stupid, but what's Red Box?" I giggled."You're not stupid. Red Box is a movie rental… box… where you rent movies for a dollar twenty or so. It's like Block Buster, but there's no actual store-slash-building you go to. There's normally one outside the local supermarket, or McDonalds."

"Interesting. My apologies, but I'm just not that up to date with current technology."

"You have an iPhone, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"That's gotta count for something. Everywhere I turn, it feels like every person has an iPhone."

"I don't see why people like them so much. I've had to replace the glass on it several times."

"Well, there's always the good old Nokia."

"I really might consider that seeing as how OtterBoxes are starting to turn out as something very unreliable."

"Seriously?"

"Mmhm." He pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I took it, and studied it in the dim lighting. The OtterBox was a black, bulky case with the USMA **(United States Military Academy, aka West Point.) **Black Knight mascot on the back. I turned it to the front, however, and it was a whole different story. The screen was cracked all over the place and near the camera it was all scratchy.

"How?" I asked, running my fingers lightly over it.

"That is the outcome of keeping your phone in your pockets while walking around base. We horseplay a lot." I shook my head and laughed, handing his phone back to him. Dessert soon arrived, as we ate it, we got into a very not-so-serious debate about which was better, regular coffee, or iced coffee.

"Iced is better!"

"No, I'm telling you, hot coffee is better. It has the hot temperature to wake you up and it also has the bitter taste to make sure you aren't nodding off.

"Iced coffee is better because it's not as bitter, and it's cold! It'll have the same effect of waking you up. And besides, if someone dumped coffee on your head, would you rather it be scalding hot, or mildly cold?"

"Okay, so you have a point, but it doesn't change the fact that regular coffee is better."

"How is it better?" I asked, seeing as how we just compared the temperatures and taste.

"It's healthier." I was about to object, but the truth was, he was right. "Unless you can find another reason as to how it isn't, this opinionated argument is over."

After dessert, we went out and drove up to McDonald's for a Red Box movie. It was quick and Dimitri and I had ended up picking _Good Deeds _by Tyler Perry. **(I personally LOVE Tyler Perry and his movies, but I have to say I enjoy the plays more. :]) **While Dimitri drove, a song I recognized as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" came on, and a grin was slapped onto his face.

I only knew the song from college roomies a while back, and they were obsessed with the eighties, always playing songs by Prince, Richard Marx, Devo, Billy Vera and The Beaters, Bryan Adams, INXS, Phil Collins, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, The Buggles. The list could go on forever. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is just one of the many. As he started singing along, I couldn't help but join, singing the woman parts while he sang the male ones.

_Sweet dreams are made of this _

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I traveled the world_

_And the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something._

_Some of them want to use you_

_Some of them want to get used by you_

_Some of them want to abuse you_

_Some of them want to be abused _

_yeah, whoa_

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I travel the world_

_And the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something, _

_yeah, whoa_

_Hold your head up-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up_

_Some of them want to use you_

_Some of them want to get used by you_

_Some of them want to abuse you_

_Some of them want to be abused by you _

_Hold your head up-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up-MOVIN' ON_

_Hold your head up-MOVIN' ON-Keep your head up_

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I travel the world_

_And the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something._

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I travel the world_

_And the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something._

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I travel the world_

_And the seven seas,_

_Everybody's looking for something._

* * *

As I waltzed inside, Dimitri following closely behind, I took off my shoes and headed to the living room.

"Pop in the disc and I'll go get some candy, drinks, and popcorn and what not." He nodded and turned on the flat screen. I heard Cat practically fly down the many steps as she barged into the kitchen.

"Come here, girl." I rubbed her face as she gave me kisses.

"Hey, Dimitri?"

"Yes?"

"The couch pulls out. Can you take off the cushions and pull it out?"

"Alright." As I heard the slight creaking of it being pulled out, I dumped the popcorn into a large bowl and carried everything into the living room where Dimitri was sitting at the edge of the bed.

I had no intentions of moving onto him and pushing him into sex, but I figured with the couch pulled out it'd be more comfortable. For most pull out couches, it's a lot of the time uncomfortable with a thin, springy, back aching mattress. But not with this sucker. Abe and I called it the MacDaddy for it's comfort and support.

"Would you mind if I changed?" His head snapped up from his, what seemed to be, deep thoughts and he shook his head.

"Go ahead."

"You can start the movie. I'll be right back." He nodded. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could and went straight for the second door on the left. I quickly changed into a black tank top and some mid-thigh length, red, shorts. Took off the earrings, some of the makeup, and I took out the band that was holding my hair together. Shaking my hair out, I went downstairs and saw Dimitri standing, facing the opposite wall, talking to someone on the phone. He was speaking in a different language, but I figured it was Russian because of how it sounded. The conversation ended shortly and Dimitri stood there, his breathing uneven with his head tilted back and his hands locked behind his neck.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" Dimitri spun around, anger and concern lighting his features.

"Are you alright?" I repeated.

"Fine."

"You don't want to talk about it?" His smile was forced as he shook his head.

"Everything's fine." I didn't push him, so I went over and hopped onto the pull out. I patted the spot next to me. "Come on." Dimitri shrugged his jacket off and walked over. As I started the movie, he sat down next to me.

We finished the movie, and after that we spoke for a while about random things, and then we watched another movie, and then we watched an episode of _How I Met Your Mother,_ and then we spoke some more, and then watched yet _another _movie, and then again, we watched another movie. It was a horror movie, and I found myself cringing at more than half of the things going on. Dimitri had moved his arm around me and brought me closer, chuckling lightly as I squeezed my eyes shut repeatedly. A few kisses were stolen from each other during the time we spent together, and I wondered if we were moving too fast.

I felt like to anyone else, an outsider, would think we were moving too quickly, but the pace felt right. I was comfortable with it and he seemed to be too. As I buried my face in his chest, I remembered the scar I saw before. Pulling away, I looked at him.

"What happened here?" I asked in a whisper, running my index finger over it.

"Someone had been waiting by one of the trucks we use, Humvees are what they're called, but they had been waiting and when I rounded the corner of one, getting ready to hop into the driver's seat, they stabbed me and dragged the knife across." he whispered back, as if we spoke regularly it'd ruin everything.

"Ouch… How long ago did it happen?"

"Two years ago, right after I was deployed. It was my third trip of landmine seeking."

"Two years ago- oh my gosh!" Tears sprang to my eyes but not falling, realizing what trip he was talking about. "You were there when he was killed, I remember hearing about you! It had apparently been one of the worst because there were a bunch of IEDs everywhere, and Mase stepped on one, and you were there- and you tried warning him, but it was too late, and when your walkie-talkie things weren't working, you had to go out and get help, but you were injured because of that one man! It was the worst trip ever marked because of all the almost-fatal injuries! And a few men had been killed, Mason being one of them…" My breathing was hard as he looked me in the eyes, his eyes completely soft.

"Yes, that one."

"How deep did he get you?"

"I don't think they ever told me exactly how deep, but the man had done something to cause me to get pneumothorax, in other words, a collapsed lung."

"Can something like that heal?"

"Yes. Mind did, but it took a very long time because I had been stabbed compared to it just happening out of nowhere."

"Can I see it?" "What, my lung?" I smiled and shook my head. "No, the scar." He hesitated briefly before unbuttoning his suit shirt and moving one half of it aside. The scar started from the middle of his collarbone and across his left pectoral, stopping when it reached the lower part of his ribcage. I let out a low whistle as I saw how long it was, and I was so shocked I didn't notice it before. The only other time I saw him shirtless was when I was at his birthday party, but something like this was so noticeable.

I ran my finger down the scar, stopping when I finally reached the end of it.

He buttoned his shirt back up after I smiled at him and moved a little away, giving him some space.

"Earlier, my mother called." he said quietly, almost too quiet to where I didn't hear him. I turned the TV's volume down and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"When you were-" I gestured behind me, which was where he had been on the phone.

"Yes. She called to let me know two things. The first one was that the surgery went well and she's scheduled to perform on another patient tomorrow while she's still out of town** (In this story, Olena's a pediatric surgeon)**."

"That's good… Olena's an amazing doctor, it seems." He nodded.

"And the other reason she called is that Aleksander has a chance of getting out of prison." My eyes widened, and from all that he's told me, Aleksander is psychotic.

"How large are the chances?"

"Slim to none, but he can be very influencing. Especially when it comes to having to find excuses, he's an expert. He finds all the loopholes in situations, and it's guaranteed that he will."

"Look, relax." He was so tense. "He's not getting out. As long as you convince yourself of that, you'll make sure that it won't happen. You're capable of keeping him away from your family, and I know you'll do just that to protect them. Everything will be fine." He sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm explaining all these things to you… It's never happened before." I frowned.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that I never tell anybody anything and it isn't right of me to rant about all of my problems to you.

"Dimitri, I don't mind it. You needed a breather, and I'm here. Now let's watch this movie."

We watched _another _movie, but this time it was a romance. I felt my eyelids drooping, and the next thing I knew, we were both out like a light with the movie still playing.

* * *

**Alright. The date totally sucked, but oh well. I've never been on one, so I gave it my best and that suckiness was the outcome. Sorry about that. And I'm really sorry about this chapter, because this was awful! Just pure barf-in-my-cereal! **

I am pretty sure you're not allowed to have cell phones on you unless you're off duty, and I'm pretty sure when you're off duty, that it means you're pretty much on your break. Goodness I just used "pretty" three times. **Anyway, I know this chapter totally SUCKED, but I think the next one might be better. Sorry for any mistakes! **Before I let you go, I have **a question **and guess what, **ANOTHER story!**

**1. ****Lemon or no? **

-I do not write lemons, I don't really read them either. I have someone willing to write a lemon for you guys and put it in this story, but I wanted to know if you all wanted one first. I don't mind putting it into my story, but I only want to put it in there if you all want it. Of course it still wouldn't happen for a while, but if you want it, I'll put it in there when the time comes. So, if you **WANT** one, PM me or leave me a review, if you **DO NOT WANT** one, please also let me know in either a PM or review.

**My new story called: **_**Worth Everything**_

**SUMMARY: **Rose Hathaway has never lived an easy life. Her parents dead, being bullied everywhere she goes, trying to make enough money to support her little sister while keeping up with the rent for their two-bedroom apartment. She works at the YMCA in Missoula as a Child Care Director, trying to make as much money as possible while also babysitting when she has time off.

There's a new guy in town who works in the Aquatics as a daily lifeguard and swim instructor coordinator, and of course, he's totally gorgeous. Rose doesn't waste her time chasing after him, but what happens when it's turning out to be a vice versa situation?

**Check it out! **

**My dear friend, RozaRoseBelikov, has this thing where she thinks of ideas and lets you use them for stories as long as you give her credit. I think it's purtty cool. Well, Sorry for the excuse of a chapter and the incredibly long A/Ns! **

**Much love you all of you, **

**~R. :D!**


	7. Chapter 7

**O.o Please don't murder me! My absence is inexcusable but I'm here with an update… I'm thinking about updating again soon, with thanksgiving and everything. A lot has happened since I've been out… it's been a few months. But know that I will NEVER give up on my faithful readers! NEVER! No matter how long I take, I'll update for you guys. (: We reached 100 reviews! You all don't know how happy I am. :DDDD We're at 112. CRAZY! You guys give me like… 20 reviews almost per chapter. Each and every one of your all's reviews makes my day! On with the thanks! **27 REVIEWS! THE MOST I'VE EVER RECEIVED! **Scroll through and find your name, and a list of your names should be at the bottom as a little extra thanks. (: (Goes in order from first reviewer to last…)**

* * *

**XxXLost-In-The-CrowdXxX- **Thanks! I'm thinking of ANOTHER story. But I'm probably going to pre-write that one so I won't lag in updating. (: Thanks for your review, chickee!

**Guest- **Thank you, if you're reading this!

**I- **T'was a slow update, but here it is! Thank you!

**Nellyrose1994- **Aww! (: I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! Of course I will respond. (: Adrian is a bit mean, as you will be able to tell after this chap, but he'll get better. Lololol. Yes, my father had been in the military for quite a bit. I love my dad. (: I'm grateful to still have him. Sorry for the late update, the next one shouldn't take so long! :D1994-

**Caza101- **A lemon should be added into the story at some point. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

**LuPeters- **Haha, you're definitely not the only one! Sorry for the late ud, crazy schedule, but here's an update! Next one should be sooner!

**Booklover- **Aww, thank you! If you're reading this, thank you for reviewing and reading! (:

**Roseanddimitrifoever- **Thank you for your thoughts! (:

**Ishini- **You're such a sweetie! Thank you so much! I'm going to go back and tally up the lemon yesers, and the noers. (: Thank you for your review!hini-

**D'oB- **Sadly, this chapter isn't lengthy. I have something else for the next chapter… :/ Brace yourself. (: Gah. I love your reviews so darn much. THOSE suckers are L-E-N-G-T-H-Y! I too think the wars and everything are important. I know what it's like… not to lose someone, thank the Lord, but I know what it's like to have to let go of someone when they're deployed for up to a year's time. For your questions… patience is the key. Sadly. (: Sorry for the late ud!

**Breebh14- **Haha, that's awesome to know you think the date was okay! Thank you so much for dropping a review, and here's the chap. Finally. X.x (:

**Guest- **Thank you! Sorry for the late update!

**ROSE MELISSA IVASHKOV- **AHHHHHHH! I have not spoken to you in forever! I've been meaning to drop a very long review to your story, and it's OVER, but I just haven't! I'll get to it though. I promise. (: I love your comparisons and rambling! IT'S AWESOME! YOU'RE AWESOME! Hmm… Avicii. I feel like they're a softer version of dubstep or something… They're not too shabby. My friend, the A7X one… (: Listens to Avicii, I believe… And tell me those favorites! Lemme know. I'll look them up. I hope to hear from you at some point, girl!

**Mademoisellesnow- **Thank you!

**Rose-loves-Dimitri-forever- **Thank you for your review! Sorry for the decade long delay, but here it is!

**Danna- **Don't worry. This story is going to be completed unless I die. That would really suck… (: Thanks!

**XX Dimka's girl 4 ever Xx- **1) LOVE your profile pic, and 2) thank you for your reviews!

Ashleyr2468- Thank you for your review. I completely agree. (:

** .Reader- **Thank you thank you thank you! You reviewed every chapter! I love your profile pic… it's awesome. (: Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I'm SUPER sorry for the late update. Next one shouldn't take so long, seeing as how I have an idea. (:

**Dana- **Thank you!

**Guest- **Thanks, here it is!

* * *

**Y'all are amazing. On with the chap, shall we? Happy readings! And sorry for it being so short!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I don't Vampire Academy. All rights belong to Richelle Mead. Also, I do not own any of the songs used.**

**Please do not copy without my written consent, for this storyline/plot belongs to me, and me only. **

**Previously:**

* * *

**I'm just going to give you a summary/rundown of what happened. I can't copy and paste, and I've been absent a while.**

**Rose and Dimitri went on their date and Dimitri had asked her to be his gf before the date, she found out about Dimitri's father, his scar and that he was caught in the fight when Mason was killed, and he fell asleep at Rose's house. Oh, and he bought Rose a bouquet of flowers. It's important… (: Happy readings, guys. My apologies for the delay and the shortness.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven- Call Me by Shinedown**

* * *

**(Dimitri POV)**

"_Just stop! Just stop it, alright? I don't want you to get hurt and with us arguing, we'll never get out alive." I complained to my sister. _

"_Fine." was all she replied with. We went through many doors and kept on twisting and turning, finally ending at some room with a metal door. Pushing it open, I looked around and noticed no other doors. We were at a dead end, which meant we had to turn back around and keep searching. _

"_Dimitri!" Vika screeched, a sob escaping her mouth. _

"_What?" She pointed to the corner with her shaking finger. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before, but there Roza stood against the wall, nails in her feet and a small hole about the size of a dime in the middle of her forehead. Blood seeped out of her other wounds and her mouth, dripping down her body and then spreading out onto the floor. _

"_Dimitri," it wasn't Viktoria who was speaking. "Dimitri…" they said again. _

"_Dimitri…" my body was shaking. _

_A hoarse, yet deep, voice spoke into my ear._

"No one can help her now_." Then she exploded._

* * *

I gasped and my eyes shot open. Rose was straddling me in attempt to stop my wriggling, one hand clutching my right bicep and her other hand resting on my jaw, the pad of her thumb rubbing over my cheekbone. As I tried to control my breathing, I scooted up into a sitting position with her still straddling me but we were in a more comfortable position, not to mention our proximity.

"Roza." I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close. Our bodies were flush against each other, leaving practically not even a millimeter of space between us. She was tense for a moment but then relaxed and hugged me back, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her breath hot on my neck.

"Yeah." I wasn't before, but with her here, I was.

"I'm all ears if you want to talk."

"Thanks, but everything's fine." I pulled back and her hands immediately went behind my neck while my hands went to her hips.

"You sure? You scared me a bit with you shaking and everything…"

"I'm sorry. I just had an unpleasant dream but you're here and everything's alright." She smiled.

"Do you know what time it is?" I glanced at my watch which read "13:16."

"One-sixteen. I didn't realize it was so late…" Her eyes popped open.

"Me either. Lissa's supposed to be coming over at one-thirty-" Rose cut herself off as we both froze, hearing the front door open. She scrambled off of me and tossed me my shirt. I had ended up in my boxers and black tank top, so I slid my pants on and then my white button-up next.

"Rose, I brought somebody with me, I hope you don't mind-" Like us only a meager few minutes ago, she froze, her eyes wide as a bull frog's. Behind her was some guy I had never seen.

"Adrian?" Rose asked quietly, her mouth hanging open.

"Nice to see you too, little flower. I see you've been having some fun…" he trailed off, his eyes looking everywhere but us.

"Look, Rose, if it's inconvenient I can come back later if you'd like…" Lissa suggested.

"Nah. It's cool. Give me ten minutes and go wait in the basement; I'll meet you down there." She nodded and pulled Adrian by his sleeve, walking down the hall.

"Sorry about that… I totally forgot she was going to be here today." I shook my head.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have been more cautious by either not staying over or leaving earlier. It's my fault." Rose frowned.

"Don't say that… it was great having you over. I don't know about you, but I enjoyed last night."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I love spending time with you, and the feelings about last night are definitely mutual." Her frown turned upside down as I told her that, and I pulled her in for a quick hug.

"I'll see you later…?" I trailed off, letting the question hang.

"Yeah. I'll call you after I get rid of Liss and Adrian." she explained. I chuckled and pulled away, giving her a peck on the lips. Her eyes were lit as she opened them, her smile growing wider. It made my day knowing that I could make her smile like that.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for your call. See you later, Roza."

"Bye. Drive safely…" I looked back and nodded, giving her a reassuring smile before walking out the front door.

* * *

**(Rose POV)**

After he was off the property, I ran upstairs and changed, brushed my teeth, and then threw my hair back into a brutal ponytail. I went down as fast as I could to the basement and saw Lissa sitting on the black leather couch next to Adrian. Neither of them were talking.

"Why'd you show up early? And out of all the people that you could've brought, you bring _him_? I would have much rather you just bring Christian." I ranted, glaring holes into Adrian's head.

"Jeez, a little harsh, much? I can't be that bad."

"You are." I seethed.

"Calm down, Rose. I didn't know you knew Adrian…" I threw my hands up in exasperation.

"Of course I know him! Do you remember 'Ivashkov'?" Her mouth made a little "o."

"He's-"

"Yup."

"But how was I supposed to know?" she asked incredulously.

"Because I've told you his name before. He's Adrian freaking Ivashkov!"

"Well, it's good to know that you still remember me." he said, twining his fingers behind his head and leaning back.

"Shut up, Adrian."

"I'm just saying-" "I don't care if you're 'just saying!' I said shut up!" So I was being a little rude, but I wanted him out of my house and hee didn't know when to stop. I rubbed my temples and turned to Lissa.

"Why is he here?"

"I told you I was going to introduce you to Tatiana's nephew-"

"Favorite great-nephew-" Adrian intervened. I shot him a dirty look and he seemed to get the message.

"and here we are." she continued.

"We're not going to be here very long if he keeps it up." I growled.

"Fine, if you want me out that badly, I'll just leave. It was nice talking Lissa, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Adrian stood and left, going up the stairs. And being me, I went after him.

"Rose, don't!" I could hear Lissa's scurrying footsteps behind me, trying to catch up.

"Oh no no no no nooooo, you're not leaving just yet, ya jerk!" I grabbed his shirt and hauled him back, spinning him around. My fist went flying towards his face.

* * *

**(Dimitri POV)**

"Eddie and me are gonna go shoot some hoops, you in?" Ivan said through the phone.

"Yeah. Here?"

"You at Mama Belikova's?"

"Where else would I be?"

"Got it. Be there in a few."

"See ya."

"Mmhm." I hung up and went upstairs, grabbed some clothes, changed, and then made my out headed towards the driveway where the basketball hoop was. The thing was at least fifteen years old, if not more.

"Dimka!" I stopped in my tracks and turned around, greeted by my sister.

"Hey."

"Where are you going dressed like that? And why do you have a basketball?"

"Well… lets see… basketball shorts, a black tank top, basketball shoes, and a basketball. I think I'm going swimming…"

"Oh shut up…" Viktoria plopped down on the couch and began to flip through television shows.

"You want to join?"

"Nah. Rolan is supposed to be coming over soon." I scowled at her.

"Rolan Kislyak?"

"Yes, him; get over it. It's not like he's ever going to _your _boyfriend."

"Very true, but he shouldn't be yours either."

"Jerk! Get out!" she yelled, hurling a magazine at me. I ducked just in time and slipped out the door, shutting it softly behind me.

* * *

*A half hour later*

* * *

"You little mother-"

"Watch that mouth." I told Ivan, who just had the ball until Eddie got it from him. My phone started ringing and I made the guys time out as I went to get it. I had no idea who it could've been, and I didn't want to take any chances on missing an important phone call. Like one from Rose.

"Hello?" I asked.

"_Dimitri?" _Rose's voice sounded over the line.

"Rose?"

"_Yeah. What're you up to?"_

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Ivan and Eddie gave me death glares.

"Get off the phone!" Eddie yelled.

"Yeah, what he said! We've got a game to finish, you mother-"

"Be quiet, Ivan." Rose began to laugh and I laughed with her, ignoring the incredulous looks from them.

"So, how are you?" I asked.

"_Pretty good, besides the fact that my hand is kind of throbbing."_

"And why is that?"

"_I punched Adrian, the guy that showed up with Lissa, in the face." _

"You're joking." I leaned against the bricks of the house, waiting to hear the explanation. When I first met Rose, I could tell she was a hot-tempered person. Her personality was just too easy to read and it was simple to figure out that she didn't like things to go any other way than hers. She's dominant, yet caring and considerate. She's easygoing. But she doesn't brush off things when it comes to the people she cares about, and that's the dominant side. You mess with the people she's made a spot for in her life, then you might as well consider yourself six feet under. I could read her like an open book.

"_No… I really did. He ticked me off. I need to see a therapist or something." _

"I don't think you do. You're perfect." She didn't reply to that one, but I heard a sigh over the phone. "What's wrong?"

"_The doctors are telling me I probably broke Adrian's jaw. Lissa told me they're taking x-rays right now."_

"What exactly did Adrian do to make you so angry?"

"_His physical existence is enough to set me off. But I've always just wanted to punch him, or harm him, and today I took that opportunity. It's about the past, and I know I shouldn't dwell on things like that, but it happened anyway."_

"Did he hurt you?"

"_Sort of."_

"Where is that son of a-"

"Aye, watch that mouth." Ivan mocked. I rolled my eyes and tuned them out again.

"_Anyway, it doesn't matter. He's not much of a problem anymore. What were you doing before I called?" _

"Playing some basketball… Ivan and Eddie get into it." She laughed again._"I can tell."_

"What are you doing right now?"

"_Sitting on my couch."_

"How exciting…"

"_Yeah, I know, it's quite the thriller." _It was my turn to laugh, and then I asked if she wanted to come over, and if she was feeling up to it, then she could play too.

"_Sure. I'll be over soon."_

"Alright, I'll see you."

"_See ya." _I hung up and headed back to them, but stopped when I saw a tense shouldered Ivan.

"What's going on?" I asked Eddie. He shrugged and sat down, playing on his phone, but stopped when he also received a call. What was going on?

"Yes, sir. See you then." Ivan ran a hand through his hair before sitting down and huffing. Curious, I began listening to what Eddie was saying.

"No, sir, Second Lieutenant Zeklos is with me. Yes, sir. And Colonel Belikov. Okay. Hooah." And then he hung up.

"What was that about?"

"That was Lieutenant General Rigman. They need us back because there was an attack on our squad and four of our twelve were wounded or killed." Eddie explained.

"Who?"

"King, O'dyermeur, Lockett, and Garretson." Ivan piped in.

"Is Garretson alright?"

"His arm was amputated. Lost a lot of blood."

"Well eff me sideways. And they don't need me?"

"No. He said that you should stay here for your expected stay, not leave with us. Ivan and I aren't necessarily needed but then again we are. Since you have been away from home longer, they picked us to go back, just in case anything else happens." I nodded. This sucked. Not only did my friends have to go back after only a few days stay, and they're going back because our other comrades had been harmed.

"Hey!" I spun around to see Roza walking towards us with a pair of aviators on, shorts, a tank top, and her hair down and wavy. Goodness she was beautiful.

"What's with the sad faces?" She questioned.

"Ivan and Eddie's stay had to be cut short," I told her. "When are you both leaving?" I asked.

"In a day and a half or so." Eddie said.

"Are you serious? That sucks… I was hoping to catch up with you Eddie, and get to know you Ivan…"

"Aye, cheer up Rosie Posie. We'll be back." Ivan promised, slinging his arm around Eddie's neck.

"Don't call me that." She laughed, walking closer to me.

"Do you have to go back?" she asked me, looking down at my hand that she was holding. "Not just yet…"

"Well, come on, we've got a game to finish. Eddie and I being sent back isn't going to ruin our game, which I am winning by the way!" I smiled at Ivan's high spirits and agreed. Rose went and sat down on the grass, settling back and watching us play. Even though Eddie and Ivan cheered up, I couldn't help the worry that made itself comfortable in the pit of my stomach.

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**:? Thanks to: **

**XXxLost-In-The-CrowdxXx, guest, I, Nellyrose1994, Caza101, LuPeters, booklover, roseanddimitrifoever, iShini, D'oB, Breebh14, guest, Rose Melissa Ivashkov, mademoisellesnow, Rose- loves- Dimitri- forever, Danna, xX Dimka's girl 4 ever Xx, ashleyr2468, .Reader, Dana, **and **Guest. **

**You all are amazing and thank you so much! Thanks to those who added me to their favorites and stuff also. Means a lot. (: See you soon! **

**~R. :D!**

**P.S.- If you want, I've got another story out called Is it the Truth or a Meager Lie? **

**It's an entry for xXxLost-In-The-CrowdxXx's VA Contest. **

**Summary:**

**Rose is out of college & is working towards making her own business, but what happens when she's the victim of a car accident? She's destroyed, in every way possible. With doctors saying she will NEVER be able to recover, will she be healed by some miracle or will her attempts to heal just slide further down the drain? RxD,AH,F sum inside!**

**That summary kinda sucks, but the full one is on the inside. Thanks guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

**LONG A/N! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ THIS, OKAY- but the chapter's short anyway. Soooo. Hey. I've been typing out these few chaps for y'all but sorry I couldn't update sooner! My (actually my mom's) laptop's internet crashed so I only was able to type out chapters (no posting… ];) over thanksgiving break. (: Thanks and rxr please! Expect more chapters soon- IF**** I can post them! **

**Oh- and has anyone seen Breaking Dawn Pt. 2? It was SOOO GOOD! My Twilight fangirling is long gone, so I went into the theater without really caring, but it was amazing. They ended it with such a great ending… and when that Russian vampire came up, y'know, the one with the white hair! When he said, "We did not put on white hats and call ourselves saints…" I was like… well, I felt kinda bad 'cause I yelled, but I was like, "WHITE RUSSIANS!" lol. O.O that sound's racist… but you all know the good Russians were called white Russians, right? Well, I'm pretty sure they were and if they aren't, then I am stupid. But I didn't mean to offend if I did… :O **

**So, on with the thanks to meh lovely reviewers!**

**In order to who reviewed from first to last. (; And if you don't want to read my rant to an anonymous review, skip until you see a gray line before some more large, bold letters!**

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**RozaDimkaReader- **I would have included the dots/ periods but last time it cut off. :? I didn't know what to do so I assumed it would be okay if I just wrote your name like that. But if you don't like it, just gimme another way to type it out and I'll be glad to do it. But yeah… Thank you for reviewing! I reply if you review… simple as that. (: Adrian so did deserve that punch. He's a jerk. Well, he was. (: Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Though you probably won't because it's drama-filled…

**Leokat24-** I'm really glad you're enjoying it! Thank you for your review!

**Roseskyangel**- Phew… you think that last chap was sad… wait till you read this one! ;[ Anyway, thank you for your lovely review! (:

**Nellyrose1994-** Thanks for being patient! (: And thanks for checking out my other story. Means a lot. (: I've got something for you guys this chapter…

**XXxLost-In-The-CrowdxXx- **Thanks for your review, chickee! (: You should update your stories too. They'reeeeeee GREAT! Lolololol. (:

**Callista Wolfwood- **I like you're penname… it's cool(:. But thanks for droppin' a review! And here's the update!

**RozaRocks-** I swear… your penname is so familiar. Anyway, thank you! I'm a bit worried about his dreams too… x.x I feel like I die a little on the inside every time I'm writing one. Thank you so much for your lovely review and here's the chap! (:

**ABelikovsGirl- **Thank you! (: I'm sorry for the wait and here is the chapter!

**RozaRoseBelikov- **Thank you, chickee! (: Again, I'm sorry for your loss… D and I are here if you ever need a chat. We all need to hang out one weekend, too! (: That's really funny and sad at the same time… did your aunt feel bad? Welp, I hope you like this chap! (:

**D'oB- **Gah. Still lovin' your reviews. (: Yes, if I were you, I'd take the dreams as a warning… O.o I love your use of words too… haha. But you are super close about the whole Rose/Adrian situation, if not then you're dead on… He did deserve it though. But you know Rolan… once a philandering dog, always a philandering dog. He's… um… well… revealed in this chapter. Sorry to ruin your hopes… :/ But thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chap! (:

**Yarza ivashkov- **One can never be late! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I do hope you enjoy this chapter, dear! (:

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I want to respond to a review from a guest. I would have PMed them, but I couldn't, so it's sadly on display for all of you other readers to see.

"anon 11/16/12 . chapter 7

Good idea and that's all I could praise you on. You had many a/n between chapters which was distracting. Author notes should be reserved for the beginning or end of the chapters. Second issue, writing a paragraph solely in Russian was difficult because I don't know Russian so I skipped the paragraph not knowing what he or she said. You need to break it down and add translations in parentheses like when you explain military terms. You did a job at explaining those terms. As for grammar or spelling mistakes I don't really care. It seems as if it's a common mistake by many writers these days. My final issue is that sometimes you have cluster paragraphs. You need to cut down it and add some spacing especially when it's dialogue. I would have favored your story if it wasn't for these issues."

Dear "anon,"

Thank you for the review you left me (and no, I am not being sarcastic- thank you, really.). I really do appreciate constructive criticism, but this was- to me- a half flaming review, and the other half was constructive.

**1- A/Ns**. Yeah, I use a lot of a/ns, but I apologize for the inconvenience I have brought to you because it was _so hard_ to read. If you didn't want to read them, then skip over them. No one is forcing you to read it. So what if a/ns should be reserved for the beginning of chapters and then the ends? To be honest, I really don't care. If people don't want to read my story because of that, then screw them. If more people complain about it, then I will definitely change it, but one person's opinion won't faze me or make me change my mind about something.

**2- The Russian paragraphs**. I used Google Translate. Unless you know Russian, I really don't expect you to read it. So yeah, I probably should have put translations in parentheses, but I didn't. They were and still are at the bottom of the chapter. Do I really _need_ to break them down? Heck no. It's probably more convenient for the reader, so I will look into changing that, but for now, it's not my first concern. Thank you for telling me that, and when I edit the chapters in the future, the format of the paragraphs will probably change.

**3- Grammar and spelling mistakes**. I use Microsoft Word Works Processors. I don't come across a lot of mistakes with spelling when I use it, but if I did, then my bad. My grammar is what I'd like to call "half-decent." It's not the greatest, but it's not awful. At least I know the differences between they're, their, there, and etcetera. I make mistakes and accidentally type, say, "Oh look, over they're." It happens, but I don't find it to be a big deal. My work isn't beta-ed really by anyone, except for one of my stories… but she hardly betas because of our schedules since mine is jacked up but when I can, I send it to her and she takes the time to beta my crappy work. **Thank you, xXxLost-In-The-CrowdxXx, if you're reading this! You are awesome, chica. ;)**

Of course it's a common mistake by writers. Not all have betas, we're not all professionals, and we're not perfect. At least we have the guts to put our pooey work on here for the rest of the world to see. It didn't take me much… because I want people other than my friends and family to give me criticism on my work. But in all honesty, please don't bash other peoples' stories. You didn't really bash mine, and I'm trying to be more open minded about this, but it did kind of hurt. If you're leaving reviews like this one you left me on other peoples' stories, that's kind of bad. Not for them, well, it sort of is, but it's a bad habit to have because then you would become very critical and judgmental, in my opinion. So, thank you very much for the review you left me but then again, I don't really feel like thanking you. If you leave me another review with constructive criticism, I won't mind the slightest bit, but please don't tell me what I "need" to do. I'll do it how I want with the guidance of my readers, but they don't need to lay out steps for me. I'm a big girl. I can do things on my own without a sheet laying out all the rules I need to follow. Thank you for taking the time to review! (:

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**Phew. Glad that's over. I hope y'all enjoy the chap and I'll try to update sooner!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't Vampire Academy. All rights belong to Richelle Mead. Also, I do not own any of the songs used.**

**Please do not copy without my written consent, for this storyline/plot belongs to me, and me only.**

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**Previously:**

_"Ivan and Eddie's stay had to be cut short," I told her. "When are you both leaving?" I asked._

_"In a day and a half or so." Eddie said._

_"Are you serious? That sucks… I was hoping to catch up with you Eddie, and get to know you Ivan…"_

_"Aye, cheer up Rosie Posie. We'll be back." Ivan promised, slinging his arm around Eddie's neck._

_"Don't call me that." She laughed, walking closer to me._

_"Do you have to go back?" she asked me, looking down at my hand that she was holding. "Not just yet…"_

_"Well, come on, we've got a game to finish. Eddie and I being sent back isn't going to ruin our game, which I am winning by the way!" I smiled at Ivan's high spirits and agreed. Rose went and sat down on the grass, settling back and watching us play. Even though Eddie and Ivan cheered up, I couldn't help the worry that made itself comfortable in the pit of my stomach._

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**Chapter Eight- Brothers by Dean Brody (Woah, we're at chappy #8! That's crazy! I feel like it's still chapter six…)**

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**Dimitri POV-**

It had been two days since Eddie and Ivan left, and I was out an about doing stuff with Rose and hanging out with my family. Rose was planning on coming over today but her, Lissa, and Christian were planning on going to Alaska where Tasha was staying for rehabilitation- Lissa and Christian staying for three days and Rose staying for two. But right after Vika's boyfriend, Rolan, left… Karolina, Sonya, and me had started off with a small argument that had grown larger.

"I don't see why you all hate him so much!" Viktoria yelled at my sisters and me.

"Rolan is no good for you!" Karolina yelled back, her fists curling at her sides.

"Since when do you decide who I get to date?" Her voice never lowered as she spoke to us.

"You need to listen to us, Viktoria. You need to stay away from him." Sonya said.

"And you! Why, _you _of _all_ people, decide that I need to stay away from him? You're the one who got knocked up and you don't even know who the father is!" This was going too far.

"That's _enough_!" I shouted, shutting everyone up. "Viktoria, do you really want to know why you should stay away from him?" Her glares burned into my own as she nodded icily.

"Rolan was that one who impregnated our dearest sister. He put date-rape drugs in her drink when they went out. He's got a reputation for it, and honestly, I'm surprised he had the nerve to start showing up here again. You want to go and get pregnant? Be our guest. The chances are that if you keep hanging around him, he'll convince you into doing something you don't want to do or he'll just end up forcing you. He's not the one the take no for an answer." I paused, watching her go from angry to thoughtful. "But hey, you're an adult. You know what's best for you, apparently, and if we're just being a nuisance and an inconvenience, we'll get out of your way. All you have to do is ask." I told her, crossing my arms over my chest. Even if she was stupid enough to still try and date him, I wouldn't let her. I wouldn't let any of my sisters go through that.

Viktoria said nothing as she turned around and walked up the stairs to her room.

* * *

"Thank you. I don't know what's been up with her lately." Karolina said.

"Yes, thank you, Dimka. I'd rather discuss this at another time, though. I'm quite exhausted," Sonya said, yawning and rubbing her stomach. "Goodnight, love you guys."

"Goodnight. Love you." I told her.

"Night, Sonya. Love you too."

I waited for her to walk to her room before I started talking again.

"I feel like she just wants to settle down. Get married."

"Really?

"Yeah, just the other day I saw her staring at some couple that looked like newlyweds. She kept looking at the bridal magazines, but her hands were glued to the ones that said 'Six Ways to Find Your Soul Mate.'"

Karolina shook her head. "I don't get it. She gives us so much trouble over the smallest things! Like having a _boyfriend_."

"I don't either. It's nice having a companion but I'm not going to die if I don't."

Karolina arched an eyebrow, a smirk staining her lips.

"I don't know… You and Roza are practically glued together…"

"Hey, she's actually a nice woman." My sister smiled.

"I know she is. She's a keeper."

It was my turn to arch an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"_Oh _yeah. I can see it," she said in a serious tone, but joked around after I soaked in her words. "I see things, Dimka. I can predict the future, just like babushka." To be honest, I felt myself seeing it too. It wouldn't be so bad if I could live the rest of my life with her. It sounded crazy to anyone else, but it felt so right. It… it was like I loved her. Or that I've known her for my whole life.

"Okay, Yeva wannabe. 'Seeing things.'" I shook my head, smiling. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight." I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Love you."

"Love you too. See you in the morning." I nodded and went upstairs, getting ready for bed.

* * *

This time I woke not because of dreams, but because of a phone call.

"Belikov." I answered. It was two in the morning.

"Hey, man…"

"Eddie?" He didn't sound so good. I sat up in bed. "Are you alright?"

"Dude, I tried. I really tried." His voice sounded a bit shakey.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"He was killed. He's gone. Ivan's gone." My phone fell out of my hand and onto the nightstand with a soft thud. He couldn't be.

_But he could, and he is._ Ivan, my best friend, was gone. Forever… and I couldn't do anything about it.


End file.
